The zoo in Buffalo NY, USA, has three new baby capybaras!We’re always cute but we’re never cuter than when we’re babies. If you live in the Buffalo area, make sure you go visit these little guys as soon as you can. Babies always grow up too fast.
Last weekend I had the chance to visit a local capybara owner who had two capys give birth on the same day. The ten babies were just five days old when I visited and it’s hard to imagine anything cuter. I just have to share the photos with all of Caplin’s fans.
These babies will be offered for sale in a few weeks and, no, we are not getting a second capybara! If you contact me, I can send your email to their owner. PLEASE read the FACute and the post on When Capybaras Bite before considering getting a pet capybara. They are always incredibly cute but they are large animals and they do not have the tolerance of a dog or a cat.
These guys were really eepy but the parents didn’t seem to get upset about it. I don’t know why Coral and Carl, who visited with me, felt they had to put food on its head. This may well have been this little capy’s first solid food.
Wish I could post all my photos but this will have to do.
I’ve been posting about capybaras as far away as Malaysia and Moscow but somehow forgot to feature my own relatives in Arkansas! Go figure. Well, it is time I did something about that. So in this post, I would like you to meet all my great capbyara relatives and their owners, Mary Lee and Amos Stropes.
Mary Lee also runs capybaras.org, probably the best site on the web for capybara information (next to this blog, of course). Mary Lee and Amos breed capybaras so they have lots of experience. But enough about the humans, let’s get down to the capybaras.
First, I’d like to introduce my Grandpa, Captain, he’s the one in the back, and my Grandma. Grandma’s name was Queen when she was alive but Mary Lee has renamed her Capalena in honor of me, her most famous decendent.
Both Grams & Gramps came from North Carolina back in 1991. That makes Gramps 18 years old, which just might be a record for capybaras. I hope I inherited that longevity gene!
Now here is a cute photo! This is my grandparents with my cousin Little. Little was their last baby and the only one in her litter. Isn’t she adorable? Maybe that’s why Mary Lee decided to keep her as a pet, kind-of like me only she is not allowed in the house.
Here’s another shot of Little when she was little along with Gramps and Grams.
Notice Gramps eyes! They are not just black pits like mine. Why didn’t I inherit that beautiful color?
Here is a close-up of Little’s face as an adult. She is now seven years old. You can see she did get her father’s eyes. But am I jealous? (Actually, I am.)
If you have been following my story, you will realize that Little and I are fairly closely related. In fact, we are first-cousins-once-removed. So you’d think we have a lot in common. But here’s another thing, besides the eyes, that we don’t have in common. Little has a pet dog named Bosco. I’m not saying a dog is a better co-pet than a rabbit, but Bosco is a lot bigger than Maple.
From that photo, you might also notice something else different about me and Little, but this next photo will make it more obvious.
So, do you see the difference? Little weighs over twice as much as me! She is hugantic! I can’t even imagine being so big. Look at her great big legs! But am I jealous? (Maybe just a bit but what if I didn’t fit in my owner’s car anymore?)
By the way, Mary Lee is writing a book on how to keep capybaras that should be completed by the end of the year. It will be the first book available on that topic so if you’re interested in getting a pet capybara, make sure you check her site for more information as it becomes availabe. (Of course, I’ll also post here when the book becomes available.) The book will also feature fun and funny stories about capybaras that Mary Lee has accumulated over the years and interesting facts about wild capybaras and our predators, including humans.
If you live near Cornwall you are in luck. The Newquay Zoo has three baby capybaras! And they are going to keep them on display so you can watch them grow.
One of the reasons my owner decided to get me was because she saw my wild cousins on her last trip to Venezuela. That was in Feb. 2007 and she got me that July. Not a coincidence. So I owe these capybaras my very life…or at least my lifestyle. I have to admit, I have it pretty cush. These capys have no idea there even is such a thing as air-conditioning, or even heating for that matter. Imagine what that must be like.
I love looking at these photos even though I wouldn’t really like to be a wild capybara. It is something to dream about but not something to really do. What would it be like to live in a big band like this one?
And I’ve always wanted a bird to come sit on my back. These North American birds just won’t do it.
The dark side of the story is the dangerous predators wild capybaras face. I don’t know why my owner and her kids seem to happy hold this killer animal. Don’t they know how dangerous anacondas are?
This caiman is probably stalking a baby capybara. They are ruthless murderers of small capys.
If you want to see capybaras in the wild, my owner and I recommend Hato El Frio, where these photos were taken.
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