The world ’s largest rodent , the Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris , hasdelighted the internetfor year . With a heavy , bbl - shaped dead body , brusk head , webbed foot and reddish - brown fur , they have a unique and memorable appearance . From Japan ’s “ Paradise of Capybara ” zoological garden exhibit to their invasion of an Argentine gate biotic community , citizenry ca n’t get enough of these “ coconut palm pooch . ”
To their credit , the capybara have n’t permit the aid go to their head . These uncivilised brute are calm and remarkably social , enjoy time with their herd , other animals , and humans . The rodents even apprise belly rubs .
The adorable animals are native to South America . So when people start spotting them in north - key Florida , there were some enquiry .
Why are there capybaras in Florida?
Like many things in Florida , the origin of their capybaras is a mystery . The United States Geographical Survey recordedthe first sightingin 1990 , and two years lateranother was reportedto a University of Georgia invasive species project after it was struck by a automobile . But things seem to rage up in the mid-’90s , when five capibara escaped from the Lubee Foundation .
The system — now known as the Lubee Bat Conservancy — hosted a wide diversity of fauna in their early years . The capybarasmade a jailbreak for itwhen a 1994 hurricane destruct the fence surrounding their enclosure . The semi - aquatic creatures prefer to be in the dense leafage that surrounds rivers , lakes , and marshes , all of which are readily available in the Sunshine State ; the weather also resembles theirSouth American homeland . So when the escapee found themselves in familiar soil , they now began to root in . Alachua County continues to be the nucleus of Florida capybara sightings today .
Escaped capybaras are n’t unequalled to Florida . Their gregarious personalities and rub - able-bodied stomach make them a popular alternative of exotic pet , ensue in ban in several U.S. states . In 2011 , wardens from the California Department of Fish and Gameconfirmed that a capybara , likely an at large positron emission tomography , was swimming around the Salinas River . And in 2022 , an Illinois hunting watch kill a capybarawhile bow fishingoff the St. Mary ’s River . Allegedly , it was quite tasty .
But unlike the runaway positron emission tomography on solo journey through America ’s rivers , the Lubee Foundation escapee were ready to start a family . Capybaras breed incredibly quickly : They average four pups a bedding material but arecapable of producing up to eight . They also happen to be great parents , with the intact ruck taking on childcare tariff . By the meter the five escapees were recapture in 1995 , they had already reproduce . Between 1994 and 2003,38 additional capybaraswere removed from the area .
Are Florida’s capybaras invasive?
Today , the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission considers capybarasan established coinage . Elizabeth Congdon , an associate professor at Bethune - Cookman University in Daytona Beach and the only North American biologist to specialize in capybaras , has investigated if the South American newcomers could be a threat to Florida ’s environment . “ I love them , and they ’re my best-loved brute on the satellite , but at the same time , it may be necessary to remove them from here,”she told ABC Newsin 2016 .
According to some estimates , there could be as many as 50 capybaras go in Florida . They do n’t appear to be outcompeting aboriginal metal money or make hurt to human beings , which classifies them as an “ exotic ” specie or else of “ invasive . ” But just because they ’re harmless now does n’t mean they ’ll continue to be in the future .
In a worst - case scenario , capybaras turn out to be like their rodent cousin-german , the coypu . These South American semi - aquatic rodentswere first importedfor fur land in the southern and westerly United States in 1899 . When the industry collapse in the 1940s , 1000 of coypu were release into the wild . Unfortunately for America ’s wetlands , the wolfish rodent thrived . Today , Myocastor coypus devour crops , burrow through agricultural levee , and destroy coastal marshes . The nation of Maryland spent 12 days and worked with hundreds of secret landholder to take away the brute from its borders [ PDF ] .
But the capybara berth in all likelihood is n’t that dreaded . Capybaras could potentially cause problems for humans in two ways . They could move into farming areas and bite on Florida ’s economically important corn and sugarcane crops . They also serveas reservoirsfor theRickettsia rickettsiabacteria that causes Rocky Mountain discern fever , which fade from animals to humans via ticks .
After 20 - odd years living in Florida , the rodent seem to be here to stay . After all , the capibara craze is n’t just a informant of fun social culture medium contentedness — it ’s a great way to circularize facts and fire awareness .
For those favourable enough to spot a wild capybara , the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advises against come near it . or else , snap a photo and report it to the local authorities — and perhaps carry it online , too . It might go viral .
