Capybaras can eat six to eight pounds of plant material each day. In the wild, capybaras eat the plants and grasses that grow in the marshy areas in which they live. Their predators include anacondas, jaguars, ocelots and caiman. They can also hold their breath for up to five minutes! Once thought to be diurnal, capybaras are now known to be crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk), and may even forage at night to avoid predators. It is thought that by using the water as a toilet, it will wash away or reduce the scent of the capybaras, making it less likely for predators to find them. These rodents nearly always defecate in the water. While these habitats provide an abundance of food, capybaras use moving water for another purpose. Capybaras are often found in or near water. They also communicate through scent, as capybaras have scent glands located on the top of their noses. The variety of vocal calls allows for mothers to communicate with young, males with females, and to send warning calls within a group when a predator is near. They communicate with one another through a variety of barks, chuffs, chirps and clicks. They are covered in coarse hair and have partially webbed toes that allow them to glide through the water and stay atop muddy marshlands without sinking.Ĭapybaras are social animals and typically live in groups of 10 to 30 individuals led by a dominant male, though groups have been recorded at up to 100 individuals. As prey animals, their eyes are located on the sides of their heads for maximized peripheral vision. They have barrel-shaped bodies with rectangular heads. They stand about two feet tall and can weigh up to 150 pounds. As a relative of the guinea pig, capybaras look like a super-sized version of their smaller cousins. Habitat: Subtropical and Tropical Forest, Wetland Lifespan: 8 to 10 years in the wild Up to 12 years in captivityĬapybaras are the largest rodents in the world. Acta Ethologica.Scientific name: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris Using predator feces as a repellent for free-ranging urban capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris). Or maybe some cheery-yet-annoying pop songs? Don’t worry, be capy! They think that adding a jaguar-noise soundtrack could be more effective! The team says the capybaras got used to the jaguar smells. In some areas, less than 10% of the original number of capybaras were seen. They placed jaguar poop there daily and observed the critters’ reaction.Īt first, they were driven away by the predator’s scent. Ruiz-Tagle and colleagues found four popular capybara grazing spots near Lake Paranoa in Brazil. Is there a harmless way to drive capybaras away?

Natalia Ruiz-Tagle from the University of Bristol in the UK wondered. They’re good friends to most animals, but pests to some humans! In many countries, it’s illegal to hunt them. Termites and rats are bad enough! What if you woke up to find giant brown guinea pigs roaming around your lawn?!Ĭapybaras, native to South America, are the largest rodents on earth. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Call pest control – we’ve got a Capybara problem!

Capybara predators