naturebriefs
10:28in productionCh. 1 · Largest Rodent, Unusual Skin/ 10:28 · ceiling 15 min
Mammals

Capybara

The world’s largest rodent sweats through fur, eats its own poo, and holds its breath underwater — and it’s not even threatened.

Capybara

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Chapters & takeaways6
  1. 0:56
    Largest Rodent, Unusual Skin

    It is the largest living rodent — and only rodent with sweat glands on hairy skin.

  2. 2:06
    Grass, Water, Bark, Fruit

    It grazes on grasses and aquatic plants — and also eats fruit and tree bark.

  3. 3:28
    Five Minutes Under, Twenty On Shore

    It holds its breath underwater for up to five minutes — and lives in groups of 10–20.

  4. 4:39
    Poo-Eating Teeth That Never Stop Growing

    It eats its own faeces to digest cellulose — and its teeth grow continuously.

  5. 5:46
    Sweating Through Fur

    Its sweat glands sit on hairy skin — a trait unknown in other rodents.

  6. 7:05
    South America — Except Chile

    It is semiaquatic, herbivorous, and native to every South American country except Chile.

Worth your time?

Yes. See the whole thing.

4/ 5
What works
  • swims
  • grazes
  • digests grass via autocoprophagy
  • lives in groups of 10–20 near freshwater
What does not
  • live in Chile
  • eat meat
  • live solitarily as a rule
  • avoid water
See it if
  • people who watch animals in savannas, forests or rainforests near freshwater
Skip it if
  • people seeking rare, endangered or solitary species
The written brief1 min read

What the species is and where it came from

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest living rodent. It is native to all South American countries except Chile.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

It swims, grazes, and digests grass by eating its own faeces. It lives in groups of 10–20 near freshwater across South America, except Chile.

What it gets right

It gets thermoregulation right with sweat glands on hairy skin — unusual among rodents. It gets digestion right with autocoprophagy. It gets group cohesion right with stable multi-age, multi-sex groups.

What it does not

It does not live in Chile. It does not avoid water. It does not eat meat or insects. It does not live solitarily as a rule.

What it changed

Nothing is stated in the sources about what the capybara changed.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for people who watch animals in savannas, forests or rainforests near freshwater. It is not for people seeking rare, endangered or solitary species.

Is it worth your time

Yes — if you want to see a large, calm, social rodent that swims like a seal and sweats through hairy skin.

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