Capybara
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Capybara range
The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a semi-aquatic herbivorous animal, the largest of living rodents. It is native to most of the tropical and temperate parts of South America east of the Andes, and has been introduced to north-central Florida and possibly other subtropical regions in the United States. It is the only living member of the family Hydrochoeridae.
The animal is also called carpincho or chigüire in Spanish, capivara in Portuguese, and kapibara in Polish. The name originally derives from the Guarani word kapiÿva, meaning roughly "master of the grasses".
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Description and habits
Full-grown capybaras reach between 105 and 135 cm (40-55 in) in length, and weigh 35 to 65 kg (75-140 lbs). Capybaras are excellent swimmers, and have partially webbed feet. They mate in the water, use the water to hide from predators, and can stay submerged for several minutes. It is even possible for capybaras to sleep underwater, which they accomplish by leaving their noses exposed to the air.
Capybaras are herd animals. The males of the species have a gland on their noses which exudes a liquid pheromone. In the mating season, they will rub this gland on the surrounding foliage to attract females. They spend most of their time on the banks of rivers, feeding in the mornings and evenings. The diet consists of vegetation such as river plants and bark.
In the regions along the Paraná river in Southern Brazil, Northern Argentina, and Uruguay, capybaras are occasionally hunted for food and for their leather. The flesh is described as tasting like pork and has a similar whitish appearance.
Venezuelan farmers who once considered the animal a pest now make a valuable addition to their incomes by selling capybara meat (approximately 400 metric tons annually). The rodents are rounded up in February so that they can be slaughtered and sold just before the onset of Lent, when the meat is in high demand.
The popularity of capybara meat in Venezuela is attributed to a 16th century theological decision by the Roman Catholic Church. Responding to queries by Venezuelan Catholics, the Church declared the capybara meat to be equivalent to fish meat, and thus allowed its consumption during Lent [1]. The decision may have been taken on the basis of incomplete or inaccurate descriptions of the capybara available to the Church authorities in Rome; but it was never reversed, and to this day the capybara is the only warm-blooded animal with that status. (This story should be treated with caution, however, since similar claims have been circulated concerning other semi-aquatic mammals, such as beavers and muskrats[2].)