The capybara's Kingdom is Animalia, Phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, Order Rodentia, Sub Order Hystricognathi, Family Hydrochaeridae, and Genus species Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris. The name 'capybara' means 'master of the grasses' in the language of the Guarani Indians and water pig in another language.
A capybara looks like a giant guinea pig. It is the largest rodent in the world. Rodents are distinguished by their sharp-edged, 2 incisors. Capybara incisors are yellow. The weight of a male is 77 to 140 pounds, and the female is 80 to 145 pounds. The capybara's large but squat body has a length from 42 to 53 inches, and a height at the shoulder from 20 to 24 inches. It comes in colors from brown to red and all the colors in between. Its skin is tough and thinly haired. Its hide is sometimes made into high quality leather. The capybara has short ears, a small nose, and short hair all over its body. Its eyes are small and located at the top of their head with their ears and nose. It also has a large bump located there which may be a scent gland. A capybara's legs are short but its front legs are longer than the back legs. and its toes are slightly webbed. There are 4 toes on the front foot and 3 toes on the back.
This animal can be found in the Amazon Rainforest, Panama, Andes Mountains, Columbia, Uruguay, and Argentina but always lives in dense forests around lakes, streams, and marshes.
The capybara diet consists of aquatic plants, grasses, tree bark, grains, melons, and occasionally some fruits.
The capybara's life span in the wild is about 8-10 years, but when they live in the zoo their life span is about 12 years long.
The capybara female can have two to eight babies at one time. Usually the female has 4 babies in a litter. Capybaras mate in the water just before rainy season and the females are pregnant for approximately 130 days. The newborns can follow their mother around and eat plants right away, but they still drink milk and are not weaned until 16 weeks. The mother is not the only one to help take care of her young. The entire group of females help take care of the babies. The females have to be 15 months or older to be able to have babies of their own.
Capybaras protect themselves in a different way than other animals do. If they hear danger coming, they will dive into the water and hide like 'cowards'. Its enemies are the anaconda, the jaguar, the puma, ocelot, eagle,and ciaman. Capybaras sometimes hide in floating vegetation, too.
Capybaras are slightly clumsy on land, but are excellent swimmers and divers. Capybaras are mammals, and can't stay under water forever. But they can stay under water for a few minutes, and can even sleep underwater if necessary, with only their nose sticking out of the water. Capybaras often lay on dry land to rest, basking in the sun. But at the first signal of danger, the whole troop dashes into the water.
The capybara lives in large groups varying from 10-100 (usually 20) with one head male and 1 or more females and other males. Capybaras communicate with barks, whistles, clicks, squeals, and grunts plus smell.
The two capybaras at the Brandywine Zoo are a boy and a girl. The boy's name is Stanly, and he was born in Silver Spring, FL, on December 7, 1996. The girl's name is Rosie, as in Rosie O'Donnel. She was born in the Cleveland Metro Park Zoo on November 26, 1996.
For more information visit:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Dugout/6454/
http://www.rebsig.com/capybara
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/rodent/capybaraprintout.shtml
http://www.scz.org/animals/c/cpybara.html
http://www.animalsoftherainforest.com/capybara.htm
by Patrick
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