### animal | vertebrate | mammal | rodent:

Capybara
* Most capybaras avoid predation
  - dive into water
* Most capybaras eat grain
  - grass
* Most capybaras feed on aquatic vegetables
* Most capybaras have coats
  - glands
  - heads
  - scent glands
  - sweat glands
* Most capybaras live in areas
  - climates
  - environments
  - grassy areas
  - hot climates
  - natural environments
* Most capybaras reach maturity
  - sexual maturity
  - stay with mothers
* Some capybaras die of pneumonia.
* Some capybaras have body mass
  - front teeth
  - long front teeth
  - natural predators
  - structures
  - live for years
  - look like guinea pigs
  - prefer vegetation
* adapt easily to life in captivity and become remarkably friendly
* also engage in coprophagy, the consumption of their own feces
  - have an extremely short, barely visible tail, located on their rear end
* are a kind of mammal called a rodent
  - type of cavy
  - excellent swimmers
* are herbivores and graze on a variety of grasses, aquatic plants, fruit and tree bark
  - only eat vegetation
* are herbivores, creatures that eat plants
  - meaning they are plant-eaters
  - herd animals
* are highly sociable animals
  - social, and fare poorly when kept alone
  - mammals
  - non-aggressive rodents
  - plant eaters
  - semi-aquatic mammals
* are semi-aquatic, spending a lot of time in the water
  - which means they spend a lot of time in the water
  - slightly clumsy on land, but are excellent swimmers and divers
* are social animals, living in groups controlled by one dominant male
  - the biggest rodents in the world
* are the largest existing rodent in the world
  - living rodents
  - usually healthy in captivity, as long as they receive proper care
* are very dependent on water and are well adapted to it
  - fussy eaters
  - gregarious
  - useful animals
  - vocal
  - well-suited for living in and near the water
* can breed anytime during the year.
* communicate with barks, whistles, clicks, squeals, and grunts plus smell.
  - plants, mostly grass
* engage in scuffles.
* have a membrane between their toes, providing webbed feet for swimming
  - large, round bodies and small heads
  - little or no tails
  - no tail and short legs with webbed feet
  - reddish-brown hair and two long front teeth that are typical in rodents
* includes brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - faces
  - nuclei
  - pedal extremities
  - piluses
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
  - vertebrate feet
* inhabit water.
* live in grassy areas
  - wetlands or close to rivers in many parts of South America
* mate in the water just before rainy season
* protect themselves in a different way than other animals do.
* resemble guinea pigs and their blunt head is perhaps their most notable characteristic.
* sometimes hide in floating vegetation, too
* spend a lot of time chewing on tough grasses to keep the teeth from growing too long
* tend to dive into the water to hide from predators.
* use their long, sharp teeth for grazing on grass and water plants.
+ Capybara, Lifestyle: Rodents
  * Capybaras live in grassy wetlands or close to rivers in many parts of South America. In the morning, evening, and at night they eat grass, mostly on land. They spend the hottest hours of the day in the water. They are good swimmers and divers. Webs between their toes help them swim. They can only hold their breath under water for about five minutes at a time.
  * Capybaras eat plants, mostly grass. Their babies are usually born in litters of four at one time. They can start to eat grass once they are about a week old, but they will also keep nursing from their mothers and even from other grown females until they are about four months old. They live in large groups, usually 10-30 capybaras together. Some groups have even had 100 capybaras.