Capybara

Capybaras eat grass and water plants.

They nibble with their big front teeth. A capybara eats lots of grass every day. It eats in the morning and the evening.

Capybaras are herbivores. They graze on grasses and water plants, and an adult can eat about 2.7 to 3.6 kilograms of grass a day. In the dry season they also eat reeds, and on farms they sometimes help themselves to grain, melons and squash.

Grass is hard to digest. Capybaras chew side to side, bring food back up to chew it again, and even eat some of their own droppings, which are full of helpful bacteria that break down tough plant fibers.

Capybaras are selective grazers: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance notes that about three-quarters of the diet can come from just three to six plant species. Adults eat roughly 2.7 to 3.6 kilograms of grass a day, turning to reeds, grains and crops such as melons and squash when grass is scarce.

Breaking down cellulose relies on gut bacteria. Capybaras practice coprophagy, eating some of their own feces to recover microbes and nutrients, and they regurgitate food to chew it again. Their ever-growing incisors crop grass, and the cheek teeth grind it with a side-to-side motion.

Capybaras live in groups.

They rest together, eat together and swim together. They take naps on the riverbank in the day. They keep cool in the water and mud.

Capybaras usually live in groups of about ten: a leading male, several females, some other males and their young. In the wet season, groups of up to about 40 may gather. Many eyes and ears make it easier to spot danger.

Capybaras rest along the banks during the hottest part of the day, wallowing in water and mud to stay cool, and they graze in the morning and evening. If a jaguar comes near, the group runs for the water and swims away.

Typical groups number about ten animals, with a dominant male, one or more females, subordinate males and young; aggregations of up to about 40 form in the wet season. The IUCN describes extended family groups with one dominant breeding male, who defends feeding areas near water. Group living improves vigilance, which matters for an animal hunted by jaguars and, as young, by caimans, anacondas and birds of prey.

Capybaras are most active at dawn and dusk and rest under cover along the banks by day, but they shift feeding into the night where they are disturbed or hunted. Water is the main escape route: they swim and dive readily when alarmed.

There are lots of capybaras in the wild.

Some people keep them on farms. Capybaras need clean rivers, ponds and marshes. Keeping wetlands healthy helps them.

The capybara is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, because it lives across a huge area and is still common. Not long ago, heavy hunting made it rare in some places.

In parts of South America people raise capybaras on ranches for meat and leather. In other places they are hunted for meat and leather, or lose their homes when forests are cleared. Protecting wetlands and controlling hunting help keep capybaras common.

The IUCN assessment (2016) lists the capybara as Least Concern. Hunting for meat and leather is the main threat it records, and some local populations have been wiped out; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance adds deforestation, habitat destruction and illegal poaching.

Farming also matters. Britannica notes that the larger capybara is typically ranched for meat and hides made into leather, while the smaller lesser capybara is more often hunted, and the IUCN notes that captive populations have reduced the demand for wild animals. Because capybaras adapt to farmland, they can also come into conflict with farmers over crops.