Capybaras wreak havoc in Buenos Aires' upscale suburbs
COHABITING WITH THE WILD 2/7. The world's largest rodents, placid and friendly, have taken over an upscale suburb of the Argentine capital. Some want to limit their numbers through sterilization campaigns, while others defend the capybaras' right to live on their territory.
Luciano Sampietro raises the long blowgun to his lips and, with a breath, projects a dart containing a mixture of anesthetic, relaxant, and analgesic toward a capybara, the largest rodent on the planet, lazing by an artificial lake.
The target, an alpha male weighing nearly 50 kilos, is hit in the hind leg. The veterinarian fires again, this time at a female. Fifteen minutes later, employees dressed in khaki coveralls retrieve the sleeping patients.
However, they arrive too late. The female is already expecting babies. The decision is then made to administer a substance to the male to prevent him from reproducing.
Yes, in the upscale neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, capybaras are sterilized.
As plump as it is impassive, this dog-sized animal from South America has become an internet star. Social media has catapulted it to the top of the unofficial cuteness charts thanks to countless videos showing the imperturbable rodent carrying monkeys and ducks on its back.
The capybara is now available as a stuffed animal or on backpacks, and in Tokyo tourists pay large sums of money to feed it carrots.
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