Capybaramammal · wild-animal

Animal field guideReviewed profile

Capybara

Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris

Capybaras are the world’s largest living rodents and are powerful swimmers.

Image credit & license

Photograph by J. Stolfi. CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

View the original Wikimedia Commons file (opens in a new tab) · Scaled for web display

Specimen notes

Where it lives and what it eats

Habitat
Wetlands, riverbanks, marshes, and flooded grasslands
Diet
Grasses and aquatic plants
Geographic range
Much of South America east of the Andes
Scientific name
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris

Review trail

Fact sources

The supporting references stay beside the record for verification and deeper study.