Saturday, May 23, 2015

Capivaras

Here in Brazil I saw capivaras for the first time! In English these animals are called "capybaras", in German "Wasserschweine". I'm very fascinated by these cute animals.
Capybaras are the largest living rodents (Nagetiere) and closely related to guinea pigs. The adults reach a size of 100-130 cm length, 50-60 cm height and up to 70 kg (the record is 90 kg!).



Their food is similar to rabbits or guinea pigs with a lot of grass but also aquatic plants. They normally live in groups of 5 to 20 animals close to the water side. They are very good swimmers and divers. 



They can get up to 10 years old and are quite robust. That's why they even manage to live in very polluted rivers in some Brazilian cities, where wast water treatment plants sadly simply don't exist. Swimming they barely show the eyes and nostrils above the water (a bit like crocodiles). 


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