Reaseheath Mini Zoo welcomes four Capybara to the collection. Born in 2022, these young males made the long journey from Northumberland Zoo to Reaseheath Mini Zoo last week.
Capybara are native to South American wetlands and forests. They typically lounge alongside rivers and pools, always prepared to dive in to evade predators like jaguars, pumas, birds of prey, and snakes. Capybara have a number of adaptations for water, with their eyes, nose and ears being high on their heads so they can stay fully submerged and hidden, brittle fur that dries quickly and partially webbed feet to help them swim. They are also the largest rodent in the world, although being young the new group still have a bit of growing to do!
The four boys are settling in well and have been named Waffle, Cookie, Peanut and Nugget.
Keeper Amy Lockwood said: ” The boys are still quite a shy but growing in confidence everyday. I offer them sweet potatoes, their favorite food, to help them become accustomed to my presence while sitting in their enclosure. This encourages them to come over and hand feed from me and eventually let me touch them. Getting them more confident is important for us to help make health checks, weighing them and moving them around less stressful for them in the future. Students and the zoo visitors loved our previous group of older female Capybara that we sadly lost the earlier this year, so it is great to see this amazing animal back in the collection.”
If you plan on visiting the zoo to see our new arrivals, check out our opening times and prices here: Opening times and prices – Reaseheath Zoo
They are located in the paddock opposite the Mandarin duck enclosure next to our Golden Guernsey Goats. With them still being quite shy make sure you look for them in their stable too.
