Capybara
Taxonomy
■ Phylum: Chordata – chordates
■ Class: Mammalia – mammals
■ Order: Rodentia – rodents
■ Family: Caviidae – cavies
■ Species: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris – Capybara
Conservation
Distribution and habitat
The capybara is a rodent that comes from South America. The capybara lives in many countries, including Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Colombia, and their habitat range stretches all the way south to the grassy plains of Argentina and west to the Andes Mountains.
Capybaras are usually found in places where water is easy to reach, like flooded grasslands, marshes, and lowland forests. They need water for swimming and plants for grazing all year round. But they are also quite adaptable and can live in drier areas too, such as dry forests, shrublands, and savannas across South America.
Adaptions
Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world. They weigh between 35 and 66 kilograms, can grow up to 1.2 meters long, and reach height of about 0.6 meters. Their body is barrel-shaped with short legs –front legs are shorter than the back ones. Females are usually a bit larger than males. Males have a noticeable scent gland, called a morrillo, on their snout.
Capybara fur is coarse and thin. The big rodents are strong swimmers and divers. They can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes. Their webbed feet help them swim and move through wet, muddy areas. Their eyes, ears, and nostrils sit high on their head, so they can stay mostly underwater while still seeing, hearing, and breathing.
Their teeth never stop growing, which helps them keep up with their constant chewing.
Diet
Capybaras are herbivores, feeding primarily on grasses and aquatic plants, but also occasionally on fruits and tree bark. They are coprophagous, meaning they consume their own feces to acquire beneficial bacteria that aid in digesting cellulose from grass.
An adult capybara may consume between 2.7 and 3.6 kilograms of fresh grass per day. During the dry season, they may also feed on grains, melons, pumpkins, and other plants, and they sometimes forage in cultivated fields, consuming crops such as bananas, sweet potatoes, and corn.
Breeding
Capybaras are polygynous.
Breeding occurs year-round, peaking at the beginning of the rainy season. When a female enters estrus, a male closely follows her. Mating takes place in water and lasts only a few seconds; females typically mate several times during a single estrus period.
Following a gestation period of approximately 150 days, 2 to 8 offspring are born. The young can walk immediately after birth and begin grazing within a week. They nurse for up to three months and often suckle from multiple females within the group. During their first year of life, they remain with the group, which provides communal care and protection.
Female capybaras have five pairs of mammary glands.
In the wild, capybaras live 6 to 10 years, while in captivity they can live over 12 years.
Conservation and threats
The primary threat to capybaras is hunting for their meat and hides. However, farming in some regions has reduced pressure on wild populations. There is a large domestic market for capybara hides in South America. In Peru and Bolivia, capybaras are sometimes used as bait animals.
Natural predators include jaguars, caimans, and anacondas. Juveniles may be preyed upon by ocelots and harpy eagles.
References:
APA references style: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide/
https://www.eaza.net/eep-pages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10300/22190005
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hydrochoerus_hydrochaeris
https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/capybaras/characteristics
https://rigazoo.lv/dzivnieki/kapibara/
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