Imagine a rat the size of a St. Bernard, and you're getting a picture of the capybara, the world's largest rodent. A set of beaver-like teeth allow the animal to snip and munch on clumps of grass; large herds with up to 100 members can mow down acres of vegetation in their South American home. Unlike many rodents, the capybara likes water. The animal runs for the nearest lake or river if it sees a predator, knowing that its enemies prefer to stay dry and won't follow it to the water.
Gnash Away: The capybara's front teeth are long and flat, like those of a beaver. The rodent uses them to clip short grasses, often along the edge of a lake. Wide molars in the back of the creature's mouth mash the grass into a pulp it can digest.
Take a Whiff: Smell is this animal's best sense, and scent usually alerts the mammal to a nearby predator. Also, the male capybara has a musky-smelling gland on its snout, which it uses to mark its territory and warn off other males.
Water Rat[]
These rodents seek safety in rivers and lakes.
Wherever a capybara is spotted, there's bound to be fresh water nearby. Not only do nutritious plants grow near water, but it also provides a safe haven from predators. Enemies such as jaguars, vultures and wild dogs won't follow the capybara when it flees into a lake-and the rodent can hide with just its nostrils poking above the surface until the threat leaves. Partially webbed feet make the capybara a strong swimmer, and it can hold its breath for up to five minutes.
Social Life: The capybara lives its entire life in large groups. A herd usually consists of about 20 members, which are led by a dominant male. When their home lakes dry up, herds will merge into even bigger groups of up to 100 capybaras.
Finding a Fit: Some young males stay with their original family groups for life, but most wander off in search of a new group after a few years. Wanderers will challenge older males for dominance of new herds, but are forced out if they back down.
Take a Dive[]
- A capybara accidentally wanders away from its herd. It's spotted by a hungry, stealthy jaguar, which watches the rodent for the right time to pounce.
- Luckily, the capybara smells the predator before it attacks. The rodent makes a clicking noise to alert any others in the area, then breaks for the nearby lake.
- The rodent makes it to the water and dives. After a minute, it pokes its head above the surface to see if the jaguar has left the area.
Trivia[]
- While it is indeed the largest modern rodent, the Giant Beaver was much larger than the capybara, making it the second largest rodent in the series.
- This card's front illustration is also used in the Wildlife Explorer series for the Capybara's profile. The only difference is that the Wildlife Explorer cards put ground beneath land-dwelling animals, while the Weird n' Wild cards do not have them, so the Capybara is standing on dirt in the former.
- The capybara also shares the back picture of the group of capybara swimming, and the multi-panel illustration "Take a Dive"; in the latter, the illustrations are labeled "Diving for Cover", there's an additional panel in the front of several capybara grazing in a grassy area, and the panels are flipped.
- The capybara is featured as prey on several cards, including the Piranhas and Boa Constrictor.
- While the creature the boa constrictor is illustrated eating on its knowledge card is labeled a capybara, due to its hoofed feet, it is most likely some type of peccary or other pig.
- The capybara is featured in Big & Small on Monster Mania 83.