# Talk:Capybara

The article mentions fossil capybaras eight times bigger than the modern capybara, and links to a two popular press articles that use similar wording, but cite no sources.  I suspect they're referring to recent finds of giant rodents like Phoberomys and Josephoartigasia, but those are dinomyids, not so closely related to capybaras.
Neochoerus pinckneyi was a larger Ice Age capybara, but apparently only weighed about 200 lbs.  Unless someone has a reference for a thousand-pound capybara, I suggest we amend the article. Cephal-odd (talk) 02:48, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

What's that mean?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.73.70.113 (talk) 02:20, 9 November 2008 (UTC) 

There is some missing information about capybaras as pets.  --213.22.5.71 (talk) 23:47, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

The article mentions capybaras escaped from captivity and found living near the Arno river, in Italy. Is there any source for that information?--Sid-Vicious (talk) 12:16, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

This article states that the capybara is the preferred prey of the anaconda, but over on the anaconda page it says that while the snakes may eat large animals (including the capybara), such large meals are not regularly consumed. Assuming this means that they usually eat other, smaller prey then there's a pretty strong disagreement here! I'll crosspost on the Anaconda talk page and see what they think too. Redset (talk) 22:56, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Under "Related news" there are about ten links to stories about giant fossil rodents such as Josephoartigasia and Phoberomys.  None of these are capybaras, and I suggest we remove them from the article.
Cephal-odd (talk) 16:36, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

"Graminivore" is a made-up word.  "Graminivorous" is not.  This is an attempted over-simplification of herbivorous behavior, and was further contradicted by the next sentence in the article.  A "graminivore" would "specifically" only eat grasses and grass seeds, right?  Not also aquatic plants, fruit and tree bark, correct?  Doc9871 (talk) 10:34, 24 November 2009 (UTC)

Google seems to disagree with you there [1], as "graminivore" is occasionally used, even in scientific papers. In any case, words like this on "-vore" and "-vorous" are always used freely together, and I don't think it makes sense for any of them to say that one of the two is a real term and the other is not. A graminivore, or graminivorous animal, is an animal that eats grasses; I don't think the seeds should even be there (a granivore eats seeds).
The text on diet at this page is questionable. It's sourced to zoo sites, which are not the best we can have. The Mammalian Species account suggests that it is in fact a graminivore, in that the bulk of its diet consists of grasses (more precisely, they describe it as a "grazing herbivore", and note that it also eats sedges). It would be interesting to see where the Palm Beach Zoo's assertion that it also eats fruits and tree bark comes from. Ucucha 12:46, 24 November 2009 (UTC)

The article lists them as being found in many countries of South America, then lists Panama and Costa Rica, which are generally considered North, or Central (or even just part of the Americas) but not South America.  Furthermore, the range diagram does not show its range reaching Costa Rica....  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aapold (talk • contribs) 06:00, 6 May 2010 (UTC) 

The article currently begins with this sentence (and a bunch of footnote references):

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), also known as capivara in Portuguese, and capibara, chigüire in Venezuela,  Colombia, and Ecuador ronsoco in Peru, chigüiro, and carpincho in Spanish, is the largest living rodent in the world.
With this wording and punctuation it's massively unclear what the status of several of those names is.  For example, is capibara meant to be one of two Venezuelan/Colombian/Ecuadorian names, or one of two Portuguese names, or an alternate name in English. or what?  Likewise, what about chigüiro?
If this information belongs here, then someone who actually knows what's intended should restructure the sentence with punctuation that is unambiguous.
But, in any case, I don't see why alternate names of the animal in non-English languages are relevant here on en.wikipedia.org, so I think that a lot of that content should just be deleted.  In my opinion, if chigüiro is an alternate term for the thing in some Spanish-speaking countries, that's information that belongs in es.wikipedia.org, but not here, unless it's especially relevant for some reason.
--142.205.241.254 (talk) 22:29, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Foreign language names removed. Dger (talk) 18:26, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

This review is transcluded from Talk:Capybara/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Reviewer: Bastian (talk · contribs) 04:17, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

I am going to start a review of this article shortly. Bastian (talk) 04:17, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

Is it reasonably well written?
A. Prose quality: 
Prose is okay for the most part, some work may be needed.
Submitted article to the Guild of Copy Editors. LittleJerry (talk) 20:46, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
B. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and lists: 

Is it factually accurate and verifiable?
A. References to sources: 

B. Citation of reliable sources where necessary: 
The citation given in the "Fossil record and other species" section does not talk of any fossil records or other species.
Removed. LittleJerry (talk) 20:46, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
C. No original research: 

Is it broad in its coverage?
A. Major aspects: 

B. Focused: 

Is it neutral?
Fair representation without bias: 

Is it stable?
No edit wars, etc: 
There seems to be a little bit of back and forth editing when looking at history. I will wait to see further.
Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?
A. Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales: 

B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions: 

Overall:
Pass or Fail: 
Good job! Although I'm more of a reptile, especially venomous snakes guy, this was an interesting read. I think you passed the article which I worked on and nominated, the black mamba - I forget. Bastian (talk) 21:47, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

Please look above for problems listed. I have not gone through the entire article yet, but I will finish reading it later on. 

The first "individuals" is misspelled in this sentence: "... as 100 individauls but usually live in groups of around 20 individuals."
As I said, the prose (spelling, grammar, and punctuation is good for most part), but there is still some room for improvement. 
Another problem so far is the citation given in the "Fossil record and other species" section - it says nothing about fossil records or other species. Bastian (talk) 05:25, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

Removed LittleJerry (talk) 18:26, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
Under the subsection "Diet and predation" there is a contradiction in sources. You list "...four to six plant species making 75% of its diet." and listed this as a source. First, that source cannot be read as the lettering is way too small and so I as a reviewer cannot verify the number 75%. A second source claims "Only seven species represented 60% of the total diet:..." from here. 
Another thing in the same section is this: "They will select the leaves of one species and disregard other species surrounding it.[16] Capybaras eat a greater variety of plants during the dry season as there are fewer plants available. While they eat grass during the wet season, they have to switch to reeds during the dry season as they are more abundant.[16]" - since all three sentences come from the same source, I would take out the first citation and just leave the one at the end right after "...more abundant" Bastian (talk) 18:49, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

Fixed both. LittleJerry (talk) 19:38, 29 December 2011 (UTC)
Also, remember to always read the GA review list above as I sometimes will leave comments up there, not just here. Bastian (talk) 19:08, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

The bits of improvements made are making the article look a lot better. Maybe add an "External links" section with a few links (3-5) of some general info pages from zoos, maybe links to a youtube video or two and you are pretty much good to go. Bastian (talk) 15:26, 30 December 2011 (UTC)
Done. LittleJerry (talk) 16:39, 30 December 2011 (UTC)
There are a few more problems. There are two different citation formats in the article--separate refs are used alongside inline complete citations. Many of the citations (I think these are recent additions) are not properly templated and use inconsistent, different date formats. Journal and newspaper titles are not properly rendered (at least one is abbreviated, and I've fixed "Latimes") and/or not wikilinked. Some refs say "downloaded," others "retrieved." This YouTube link is inappropriate in the first place, and certainly so in a GA. Drmies (talk) 15:33, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

It needs a new picture with a human to really show the rodents size. Can anyone find one that can go up on  this page? Reedman72  (talk) 16:15, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

I wrote a short paragraph about the escaped capybara of High Park, along with several reliable sources.  They have been on the lam for over 2 weeks and this is still making national news.  Yet my segment was deleted, probably because it was deemed not notable enough.  I completely agree that it's not notable enough for its own article, but I'm not sure the deletion here was justified.  Opinions?  Observer31 (talk) 07:02, 12 June 2016 (UTC)

I think I have the answer to my own question - this bit of info should be in the zoo history, not the species page.  Sounds good?  Observer31 (talk) 04:21, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

I've be been seeing YouTube videos showing capybaras to be very friendly.   And the article show a photo of a bird sitting on one's head.   If true or not, it needs to be addressed in the article.    Pb8bije6a7b6a3w (talk) 13:52, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Please change the last caption to "Video of a captive capybara yawning and stretching". 2601:647:CB02:5034:A9D9:C859:43B3:99D4 (talk) 23:44, 11 April 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: There are two capybaras in the video, and "resting" seems to sum up their activities, or lack thereof, quite nicely imo. NiciVampireHeart 18:31, 14 April 2019 (UTC)

I have now seen the " Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris" in the lead, which the most recent edit summary from me said they are not. And I also see they are semi-aquatic as well. But at least what I did was reverting the red links. Iggy (Swan) (Contribs) 22:23, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:

Capybara With an Orange on its Head.jpg
You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 13:53, 21 July 2021 (UTC)

In the article there are so many images I can't even put a picture of a capybara with her four pups into the article in the correct section. Maybe somebody cut down some of the images, or extend the article to enough length to fit them all? Also, can somebody archive this talk page, there's 22 sections, earliest dating back to 2007. Lallint⟫⟫⟫Talk  19:37, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Capybara: Social
Capybara's are also known for their friendly nature. Capybara's are very social animals in nature, even with other species. The symbiotic nature that the peaceful animals have with others make them friendly with animals such as birds, turtles, alligators, and others. Naturally, these social animals can always be found in a large group of other capybara's, and rarely are spotted alone. Goosette (talk) 00:34, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 00:43, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

Shouldn't it be "found throughout all countries of South America except Chile" rather than "found throughout ALMOST all countries of South America except Chile"? 2A00:23C7:9095:EB01:D592:8313:865:3528 (talk) 05:57, 14 July 2022 (UTC)
Recent research has shown that capybaras exhibit flexible antipredator behaviors depending on the presence of natural predators in their environment. In regions like the Pantanal, where jaguars and pumas are common, capybaras tend to forage in safer areas closer to water and increase vigilance only when there is a direct cue of predator presence. In contrast, populations in areas without large predators for several generations, such as the Iberá Wetlands in Argentina, show signs of predator naïvety. These capybaras respond similarly to both predator and non-predator sounds, indicating a reduced ability to recognize predation risk. This behavioral plasticity suggests that capybaras rely more on environmental context and short-term risk cues rather than constant high vigilance, and that antipredator behaviors can diminish over time in the absence of predators. 

 Done Netherzone (talk) 06:11, 14 July 2022 (UTC)

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

2 pesos uruguayo carpincho.jpg
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 20:23, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

The synonyms list can be completed per MSW3 ref. --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 12:17, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

What does this "over hair" is it (Capybara#Description)? I do not find it at Fur article. --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 15:39, 18 July 2022 (UTC)
Capybara#Ecology: Should "superb swimmer" be replaced with a more neutral wording? --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 15:22, 20 July 2022 (UTC)
Capybara#Conservation and human interaction: "but physical contact is normally discouraged": weasel words? --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 11:02, 24 July 2022 (UTC)
The "excelent/superb swimmer" and the "five-minute ability" facts are mentioned both at Capybara#Ecology and Capybara#Activities. And what are the sources for Capybara#cite note-2? --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 20:04, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
The lead section says that the guinea pig (Cavia) is closely related to capybara. This is not reflected in Capybara#Classification and phylogeny. But Cavia is really closely related to capybara? Only Kerodon and Hydrochoerus are placed in Hydrochoerinae. Cavia is in Caviinae. --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 11:33, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
Could somebody verify if Capybara#Popularity and meme culture is acceptable? If it is, it requires some copyedit, because it repeats some information from the parent section (Capybara#Conservation and human interaction). --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 11:13, 12 August 2022 (UTC)
If guard hair and over hair are synonymous (according to Fur#Guard hair), then what does the scope of this sentence is it: "its guard hair differs little from over hair" (Capybara#Description)? --NGC 54 (talk｜contribs) 20:47, 12 August 2022 (UTC)

can we use a circulating meme with the don toliver song as an example? would this fall under fair use or would it still be subject to copyright? I think it would be beneficial to understand the meme considering how fast trends come and go. Jgourl (talk) 04:21, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

There is nothing to prevent talking about a meme but finding a WP:RS for that is difficult. Copyright is not a problem. Invasive Spices (talk) 19 September 2022 (UTC)
Any critter sitting in the front seat of a car would have sufficed, so this isn't about the animal, it's about the meme. It could possibly be of use on meme, but it is irrelevant on this article. - UtherSRG (talk) 15:19, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

The map shown of the capybara’s range shows that capybaras are not in the Brazilian province of Piauí even though they do, in fact, live there. JFJupiter (talk) 01:22, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Indeed. @Lallint: Can we get an updated map that matches the IUCN range please? - UtherSRG (talk) 11:05, 2 November 2022 (UTC)
I third the motion. What's the source of the original map?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.144.246.121 (talk) 01:10, 9 December 2022 (UTC) 

I've requested a map get made. Now we wait. :) - UtherSRG (talk) 12:27, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 Done UtherSRG (talk) 02:48, 14 December 2022 (UTC)

2A01:11AF:4E5:5F00:D0D3:6D64:C3DE:2D23 (talk) 09:33, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
Capybaras are featured in the Disney movie “Encanto”

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. UtherSRG (talk) 11:27, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
I'm thinking that this link could help out with that.
https://encanto.fandom.com/wiki/Chispi#:~:text=Chispi%20is%20a%20minor%20character,various%20pets%20in%20his%20room. 209.94.176.249 (talk) 17:50, 12 December 2023 (UTC)
Other wikis are not reliable sources, and it still doesn't explain how Chispi is notable. Mr Fink (talk) 18:02, 12 December 2023 (UTC)
ohh yeah! but that doesn't really make sense to the capybara right? Mistyxluna (talk) 08:06, 3 April 2025 (UTC)

i think that the section could be expanded a bit further than it is currently. 209.94.176.249 (talk) 17:48, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Under Popularity and Meme Culture, change "Capybaras also associated with the phrase" to "Capybaras are also associated with the phrase" Guy Bayan (talk) 23:25, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

 Done	QuietCicada  chirp 00:00, 16 February 2024 (UTC)

There is a nice picture of a yellow-headed caracara on the featured capybara. The caption is 'yellow-headed caracara sat on a capybara'. This should be '...sitting on a capybara.' or '...seated on a capybara.'  
If the yellow-headed caracara had been placed on the capybara by some other being, then the original wording would be correct, but such a scenario seems somewhat unlikely. 2A02:A31B:8540:EC00:A872:29DA:261E:293E (talk) 20:14, 29 May 2024 (UTC)

add more info about hair 31.25.2.154 (talk) 09:15, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

 Not done, it is unclear what changes you want made. Alexeyevitch(talk) 10:48, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

Capybaras have unique communication skills and vocal repertoire that include a variety of barks, squeaks, grunts, and whistles that coordinate activities of the group or possible predator threats. Overall, this contributes to their social structure, organization, and unity. Hdits2 (talk) 18:56, 1 November 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. ZZZ'S 19:10, 1 November 2024 (UTC)

The capybara's size is due to gigantism, which occurs when a species develops a body size that is noticeably larger than that of its smaller ancestors. Unfortunately, this trait can have certain negative trade offs in capyaras such as a reduced population size and an increased risk of cancer due to the large amount of cells and higher rates of cell proliferation. (Herrera-Álvarez et al., 2021)
Adorae00 (talk) 22:09, 3 November 2024 (UTC)Santiago Herrera-Álvarez, Elinor Karlsson, Oliver A Ryder, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Andrew J Crawford, How to Make a Rodent Giant: Genomic Basis and Tradeoffs of Gigantism in the Capybara, the World’s Largest Rodent, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 38, Issue 5, May 2021, Pages 1715–1730, https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa285 Adorae00 (talk) 22:09, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: The page's protection level has changed since this request was placed. You should now be able to edit the page yourself. If you still seem to be unable to, please reopen the request with further details. FifthFive (talk) 23:57, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

The capybara's size is due to gigantism, which occurs when a species develops a body size that is noticeably larger than that of its smaller ancestors. Unfortunately, this trait can have certain negative trade-offs in capyaras such as a reduced population size and an increased risk of cancer due to the large amount of cells and higher rates of cell proliferation. (Herrera-Álvarez et al., 2021)  Adorae00 (talk) 22:24, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

the etymology and general overview is very incomplete. This animal is known under very different names in Spanish South America, like chiguire, chiguiro, carpincho, etc. 190.6.37.124 (talk) 23:54, 19 December 2024 (UTC)

In the section Popularity and meme culture, a sentence on Tupi could be added. 2601:681:5782:3EA0:9D84:F7A2:181A:623E (talk) 02:02, 29 December 2024 (UTC)

Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Cattle tyrant (Machetornis rixosa) on Capybara.jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for January 22, 2025. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2025-01-22. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page.  If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you!  — Amakuru (talk) 13:33, 17 January 2025 (UTC) 

On the Etymology section, please adjust the spelling of the word "hydor" at the end of the paragraph to "hydro" Tr1qR (talk) 04:01, 1 February 2025 (UTC)

 Not done: After a quick search, it seems like that spelling is correct. ⸺(Random)staplers 06:40, 1 February 2025 (UTC)

Can the text about meme culture and the text about lyme disease be separated into separate paragraphs? Amandapollak (talk) 01:03, 24 February 2025 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean: it was in separate sections, but the meme stuff is now gone because of poor sourcing. Drmies (talk) 01:06, 24 February 2025 (UTC)

This is written on Wikipedia, but seems to be an urban legend.

After several attempts a 1784 Papal bull was obtained that allowed the consumption of capybara during Lent.
The second source (available online behind paywall) is actually citing the first source, "López de Ceballos, Eduardo (1974). Fauna de Venezuela y su conservación. Venezuela: Editorial Arte." That seems to be the only actual source on this.
That book is not available online. But it seems to be the only actual source everyone is citing on the supposed Papal bull. - Karel Bílek (talk). 12:12, 4 March 2025 (UTC)

I asked on Stack Exchange to make sure and nobody was able to find any such bull. (Is this original research? I don't think so)
https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/105380/is-there-an-actual-bull-confirming-capybara-to-be-classified-a-fish-during-lent/105382?noredirect=1#105383
I am fairly sure that it is urban legend of sort; a ecology conservation book is anyway not a good primary source on papal bulls. - Karel Bílek (talk). 08:19, 5 March 2025 (UTC)
I have removed the note because it's just improbable that it's a full-on papal bull and the single source is flimsy. - Karel Bílek (talk). 14:40, 6 March 2025 (UTC)

Recent research has shown that capybaras exhibit flexible antipredator behaviors depending on the presence of natural predators in their environment. In regions like the Pantanal, where jaguars and pumas are common, capybaras tend to forage in safer areas closer to water and increase vigilance only when there is a direct cue of predator presence. In contrast, populations in areas without large predators for several generations, such as the Iberá Wetlands in Argentina, show signs of predator naïvety. These capybaras respond similarly to both predator and non-predator sounds, indicating a reduced ability to recognize predation risk. This behavioral plasticity suggests that capybaras rely more on environmental context and short-term risk cues rather than constant high vigilance, and that antipredator behaviors can diminish over time in the absence of predators.
Reference: Avila, A. B., Corriale, M. J., Donadio, E., et al. (2022). Capybara responses to varying levels of predation risk. Animal Behaviour, 190, 151–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.05.008
Manvendrasinh Vaghela (talk) 04:03, 24 March 2025 (UTC)

It might be helpful to describe the capybara their body a bit more detailed, since some people might have a school project (maybe me hehe TT)
But, i would like to know more about their bones, their way from moving and just describtions of their inside body and ofcourse the outside also. Mistyxluna (talk) 08:04, 3 April 2025 (UTC)