Dawn Matthews, Age 8, Of Gastonia, N.C., for her question:
Where does the capybara come from?
The rat is one of the rodents or gnawing animals, and all his toothy cousins are called rodents. You might not wish to think of a rat four feet long, but the capybara is a rodent which may be as big as a pig, and the furry fellow is a most charming character.
You might meet a capybara in the wilds of panama. Other members of his family Live farther south along the eastern side of South America. He is a very shy animal which is a good thing. For the capybara is the biggest member of the toothy family of ratty rodents. He may be four feet long and stand 21 inches high at shoulder level. He may weigh more than 100 pounds, which makes him heavier than an eight year old boy.
The capybara is a bunny type animal with long thin legs and a brownish fur coat. If you saw only his head, you might mistake him for a baby donkey. Like all bunnies, He has no tail to speak of. The big fellow might startle you, but he is more scared of you than you are of him. He would rather run away than fight, and when he can, he escapes by jumping into the water and swimming to safety.
The world's biggest rodent never eats meat. He dines on water weeds and the tall grasses that grow by the river banks. His home is always near the water, and we find him along the banks of the Orinoco and other rivers of eastern south America. After dinner, he likes to stretch out and sun himself by the side of the water.
It seems a shams that such a gentle animal. Should be hunted. But his flesh is the favorite food of some of the big meat eating animals of South America. Jaguars stalk him from the branches of the jungle trees. Puma are always waiting to pounce frorn rocks and high boulders. The capybara is always alert and ready to leap or swim to safety. Sometimes he dives into the water to escape a big cat, only to meet more trouble. A big mouthed alligator may be waiting in the water to gobble him up. Native hunters may be waiting in a canoe to catch him when he comes up for air. The baby capybara is a member of a large family, and he has a merry life with his four to seven brothers and sisters. The furry youngsters romp and play together until they are almost fully grown and ready to go off and start capybara families of their own.