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Capybara

(Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

 

Category: Mammals

 

 

Capybaras are the largest rodent in the world and can weigh in excess of 100 pounds! They are native to South America and inhabit savannas and dense forests near bodies of water. They are highly social animals that can be found in groups of around a hundred individuals. They are selective herbivore and are related to guinea pigs.

 

Data & Facts

Scientific Classification
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata
Class - Mammalia
Order - Rodentia
Family - Caviidae
Genus - Hydrochoerus
Species - H. hydrochaeris

 
Did you know?
Interesting Animal Facts

The Opossum Ain’t Playing

Many people associate playing dead with the opossum - that’s where the term “playing opossum” comes from, after all. But something you might not know is that when an opossum feigns death, it really goes all out! Not content with merely closing its eyes and laying down, the opossum begins drooling profusely as if ill or even rabid, releases a putrid, greenish fluid from its anal glands that makes it smell like a decaying corpse, and after losing consciousness may even mimic rigor mortis! This is quite the elaborate routine, but it isn’t conscious: when an opossum plays dead, it has actually gone into shock due to stress.

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