It is Sepia Saturday
on the Bayou. This is a fun blog hop
with many great sepia photos and is hosted by Ruckus the Eskie.
This is Mia the capybara and she attended the 2014 BlogPaws conference. Blogpaws made a donation to the ROUSFoundation. ROUS stands for Rodents of Unusual Size and the capybara certainly falls into that category. They are indigenous to much of South America and have the distinction of being the world’s largest rodent. It is a close relative to the chinchilla and guinea pig. Its heavy body is shaped like a barrel with a short solid head and reddish/golden brown fur. When they reach maturity, they can be up to 4 feet in length and weigh as much as 140 pounds. They have webbed feet and only 20 teeth. Capybaras eat mainly by grazing on grasses and aquatic plants, fruits, and tree bark. An adult can consume up to eight pounds of grass each day.
Capybaras
are increasingly kept as unique pets and this can lead to many unwanted in
captivity. They are gentle, friendly
animals and have even been used as a seeing guide animal for the blind. Before you rush out to get your own capybara,
give ownership some serious thought.
Just as any wild animal that people try to domesticate, the animal can
become aggressive. They need a lot of
room and attention. They are definitely not
for everyone. As for my house, we will
stick with dogs.
If
you are interested in learning more about the capybara, you can read Melanie
Typaldos’ blog, Capybara Madness http://www.gianthamster.com
Sources: Capybara
Madness at http://www.gianthamster.com
FactZoo at http://www.factzoo.com
*I wanted to make
a clarification from Tuesday’s post concerning the incredible PetSmartCharities, Inc. http://www.mkclinton.com/2014/05/where-can-i-adopt-pet.html The amount of animals saved by being adopted is
listed it as 400,000. The nonprofit actually saves over 400,000 cats and
dogs EVERY YEAR (or more than 5 million to date) through their in-store
adoption programs. Way to be
awesome PetSmart Charities!!
**Bravo! has issued
a recall on select dog and cat food due to potential contamination with
Listeria monocytogenes. You can read
everything that you need to know including who you should contact and how to
get a refund or credit at the Pet 360 Safety Center. http://www.pet360.com/dog/alerts-and-recalls/bravo-recalls-select-dog-and-cat-foods
Wow! Very cool! I have never heard of these guys before!! Interesting...but yes...I will stick with my dogs. :) Happy Sepia Saturday!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post and great photo!
ReplyDeleteNew to us too. We learned something new today. Have a super Saturday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
I know of Capybaras but didn't realise people actually kept them as pets or that they can grow so large. Yes, I'll stick to dogs as well. I certainly hope having a Capybara for a pet doesn't become the 'in' thing. I think they would be very difficult to rehome, even as cute as they are.
ReplyDeleteThose things are just weird! Mom wouldn't let us get near them as she was afraid our hunting instinct would kick in. She saw them last year at BlogPaws too. Can't imagine having one as a pet.
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all,
ReplyDeleteMy Human says she's getting too old to deal with anything that gets that large, even if it is a dog. She can't imagine keeping such a large wild animal as a pet. Fascinating that they have been used as guide animals.
Y'all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
They are indeed an amazing animal! we of course don't have any here in Australia but understand the wild animals not always being suitable to keep due to their needs..we have seen people overseas with pet Kangaroos and they too can be very dangerous :) fabulous picture :) hugs Fozziemum
ReplyDeleteI met Mia and thought she was the sweetest thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree, though, that capybaras aren't for everyone. They have special needs that must be met (like a place to swim!) and need a veterinarian that can care for them.
I'm happy enough that I got a chance to get to know one up close and personal.
--Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats
As I saw a picture of Mia the first time I was in love immediately. Thanks for sharing some informtions about this wonderful animals.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought these guys were so neat!
ReplyDeleteThey are like GInormous guinea pigs or something! haha!
Have a great weekend!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
that thing TOTALLY freaked me out :) It thought I was it's mother :) But it IS awfully cute, kinda like a guinea pig on hormones :)
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DeleteSorry Caren I had to delete because I spelled you name wrong....but that's hilarious!!! I can see you running now hahhahah :)
DeleteWhat a great photo...the clarity is amazing! I've been seeing lots of photos of this gal (and this is probably the best one), but hadn't read much detail about her, so thanks for the great info, it was very interesting to learn more (I'll stick to dogs too though).
ReplyDeleteJan, Wag 'n Woof Pets
Cute fellow, but I stick to mom. Sniff and wags from Laika and Vaks.
ReplyDeleteThese guys are cute but they are definitely not for everyone.
ReplyDeleteWas lucky enough to see Mia, at BlogPaws very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteShe is cute.
ReplyDeleteWe saw Mia too. We were amazed to hear she would just about triple in size!
ReplyDelete