|
Items in cart [0] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 207
16
Capybara
The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), the
world's largest rodent, can be as big as a sheep and
weigh as much as a small person. Its natural habitat
is the environs of South America's rivers, marshlands,
and swamps, where it feeds on the grasses and reeds
that grow near water.
An
Because of its size, tasty meat, valuable leather, and rapid repro-
duction, the capybara is a candidate for both ranching and intensive
husbandry throughout the hot and humid lowland tropical regions of
Latin America. It seems easy to handle. It is commonly raised in zoos
or occasionally as a pet, and has, in at least one instance, been proven
successful in large commercial herds.
In floodplain ecosystems, capybaras complement cattle because they
prefer to graze swamp grasses rather than the dryland grasses on
which cattle feed. They have simple stomachs, but are one of the more
efficient herbivores. Although they are "selective feeders" that eat
lush waterside grasses "preserved in quality" by the water, they also
graze pasture, usually selecting new growth that is often too short and
scattered for cattle, with their large muzzles, to eat.
AREA OF POTENTIAL USE
The floodplains of the South American subtropics and tropics where
the animal is indigenous.
APPEARANCE AND SIZE
Although they have blunt, horselike heads, capybaras look like
gigantic guinea pigs. They are ponderous, barrel shaped, and have a
~ Strictly speaking, capybara is probably too big to be a "microlivestock," but we
include it here because of its close relationship with other rodents in this section.
207
OCR for page 208
208
MICROLIVESTOCK
tail too small to be seen from a distance. Their skin is tough and
covered by sparse, bristlelike hairs: the color above is reddish brown
to gray; beneath, it is yellowish brown.
The front legs are shorter than the back. Slightly webbed toes four
on the front feet and three on the back make them good swimmers.
They dive with ease and can stay underwater for up to five minutes.
They also move nimbly on land.
The capybara is extremely large for a rodent. In size and color, it
looks much like a pig. Often more than 100 cm long and 50 cm high
at the shoulder, it can exceed 50 kg liveweight. Indeed, specimens
weighing up to 90 kg have been reported.
DISTRIBUTION
Before livestock were introduced, the capybara grazed widely over
riverine regions throughout South and Central America. Today, it is
found in the flooded grasslands from Panama to Paraguay. Mainly, it
occurs in the watersheds of the Orinoco, Amazon, Paraguay, and
Parana rivers. High population densities exist in the Pantanal of western
Brazil and on the Llanos floodplains of Venezuela and Colombia.
STATUS
There are few precise population counts, but capybaras can occur
in large numbers.2 However, in many areas they appear to be on the
verge of extinction, being deliberately eradicated by farmers who think
they compete with cattle and transmit diseases. Also, in some areas
illegal hunting goes on year-round and great numbers are killed. The
animals are particularly vulnerable during the dry season, when they
concentrate around the diminished river channels and water holes.
HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT
As noted, most capybaras live in swampy or grassy areas bordering
rivers. However, some are found in other habitats, ranging from open
2 A census done on one ranch in the Llanos of Venezuela indicated about 47,000
capybaras on 50,000 hectares. Information from R. Lord.
Opposite: Capybara are semiaquatic creatures that feed largely on aquatic vegetation.
(D.W. Macdonald)
OCR for page 209
CAPYBARA
209
OCR for page 210
210
(qlq
The capybara's native range.
MICROLIVESTOCK
plains to tropical rainforests. But even here they stay near ponds,
lakes, streams, and swamps, and never venture much more than 500 m
from water.
BIOLOGY
The capybara, like all rodents, is a simple-stomached animal, but it
is a true herbivore. Its digestive system is especially adapted for
fibrous materials. The large cecum the site of enzymatic digestion
serves a function like that of the rumen of sheep, cattle, and goats. It
has a digestive capacity similar to that of a sheep's rumen.
Like rabbits and all the rodents, capybaras are coprophagous. That
is, during the morning hours when they are resting, soft feces from
the cecum are passed a second time through the digestive system.3
Contributing to the animal's digestive ability is its efficient masti-
cation. It chews its forage seemingly incessantly, reducing it to
extremely small particles before it is swallowed.
3 Information from R. L,ord.
OCR for page 211
CAPYBARA
211
Under natural conditions, the females annually bear 1 or 2 litters,
each averaging from 4 to 6 offspring. Birth weight is between 1 and 2
kg, depending on litter size and sex. Both males and females reach
sexual maturity when they reach a liveweight of 30 kg or more-
usually between the first and second year of life.
BEHAVIOR
Capybaras are intelligent, shy, inoffensive, and harmless. In undis-
turbed ecosystems, they are gregarious and live in family groups of
up to 30. The young follow the mother about for many months after
birth.
Unlike most rodents, they do not construct dens, but the groups
have specific resting areas.
The animals are both diurnal and nocturnal and, like many herbivores,
they graze at daybreak and dusk, and perhaps also at midnight. They
spend the morning resting in weeds on riverbanks, and at noon they
cool off by bathing for an hour or so before grazing. They may feed
belly deep in water.
Capybaras wallow in mud, allowing it to dry on their skin before
bathing again. Mange can develop in captivity when they cannot take
a mud bath.
When startled, a capybara barks loudly and dashes away, but after
running 200 m or so it tires, slows down, and may lapse into
hyperthermia. At that point a hunter can easily catch it. However, if
the animal reaches water, it usually eludes the pursuer because it
swims so well-especially underwater.
USES
Capybara meat is white and has qualities and properties (such as
high emulsification) that might allow it to compete with pork and other
meats in the food industry. Spanish-style sausages, Italian-style mor-
tadellas, frankfurters, and German-style smoked chops have been
produced experimentally.4 However, at present, the meat is mainly
consumed only in the dried and salted form. It is particularly popular
in Venezuela, where more than 400 tons are sold every year, especially
during Easter festivities.5
4 Gonzalez-Jimenez, 1977a.
5 Centuries ago, Venezuelans and Colombians petitioned the Pope for special dispensation
to eat this semiaquatic animal on traditional "meatless" days; approval was granted,
and since that time the capybara has been an important food during Holy Week.
OCR for page 212
212
MICROLIVESTOCK
The capybara's hide is one of the best for glove making. This luxury
product, known in international commerce as carpincho leather, fetches
high prices on European markets because it is more heat resistant than
most leathers and because it stretches in only one direction. This one-
way grain allows gloves to stretch sideways without lengthening and
looking sloppy.
HUSBANDRY
The capybara appears suitable for raising as a livestock animal.
Amerindians traditionally collected capybara orphans during the hunt-
ing season and raised them until needed for food. Capybara breeding
was reported in Brazil as early as 1565.
Modern attempts have been made towards domestication. Research-
ers at the Institute of Animal Production in Venezuela, for instance,
started a breeding program in the 1970s using 20 females and 5 males.
Since that time they have continuously kept capybaras in confinement.
Through selection and management, they have improved the repro-
duction of captive animals. The current aim is to get 16 offspring per
mother per year. Newborns are weaned after 5 weeks and the mother
is returned to the breeding pen.6 In Colombia, similar work is in
progress, and guidelines for raising capybaras on breeding farms have
been published.7 In Brazil, research has been carried out to study
capybara nutrition, genetics, management, reproduction, and social
behavior in total confinement.8
ADVANTAGES
Throughout South America, the price of beef has increased greatly
within the last few years, thereby providing a new incentive for
capybara husbandry. It has also forced many campesinos to eat more
wildlife, which adds another incentive for producing capybara meat
on farms and thereby perhaps helping to relieve pressure on the wild
stocks.
When tame, the animals are amenable to handling without physical
restraint. They are so tractable that in Surinam a blind man once used
one as a guide animal.
6 Gonzalez-Jimenez and Parra, 1975.
7 Information from E. Gonzalez-limenez.
x Conducted by the University of Sao Paulo at its wildlife research center (CIZBAS).
Information from Abel Lavorenti.
OCR for page 213
CAPYBARA
213
Capybaras can be raised on a variety of readily available vegetation:
leaves, roots, fruits, and vegetables. They thrive in coarse grasses, if
given opportunity to select nutritious parts. Their large incisors allow
them to bite off short grasses that many herbivores cannot use. For
instance, they eat "capybara grass" (Paspalum fasciculatum) that is
abundant on river edges in Venezuela and is normally too short for
cattle to graze. This makes for low-cost feeding and utilization of a
resource that is otherwise unused.
Capybaras are at home in hot, humid environments and are fully
adapted to life on the tropical floodplains and seasonally flooded
savannas. They thrive in extreme climates where cattle struggle, such
as in the parts of the lower Paraguayan Chaco where summer temper-
atures reach 45°C.9 An ecological benefit to raising Capybaras is that
there is no need to alter habitats by introducing exotic forage plants.
They reproduce quickly. Age at first conception for females is about
1.5 years, and the time between parturitions is generally shorter than
that of goats or sheep in the tropics. Young Capybaras grow so fast
that in 18 months they can reach a liveweight of more than 40 kg. In
their natural conditions, they are more disease resistant than cattle.
The annual productivity is said to exceed that of cattle in many parts
of its range.
This species is already so widely eaten in South America that the
meat from farmed animals should be readily acceptable.
LIMITATIONS
Capybaras occasionally raid fields and can harm sugarcane, rice,
bananas, sweet potatoes, cassava, corn, and other crops. In many
parts of Brazil, they are considered agricultural pests and are shot.
Confining these animals in high density may create serious problems.
Infectious diseases and parasite outbreaks seem to be worse than those
that occur with conventional livestock. Aggression might prove a
limitation to capybara husbandry: it is almost impossible to cage two
adult males together or to introduce new animals to an existing group.
The animals may transmit disease to people and livestock. They can
harbor foot-and-mouth disease and are known to be susceptible to
brucellosis. They also carry a form of trypanosome, Trypanosoma
evansi.
Compared with cattle, capybara use only a small proportion of the
total plant biomass. They are largely selective feeders, and for satis-
factory performance must have sufficient area to select the plants they
9 Information from D.J. Drennen.
OCR for page 214
214
MICROLIVESTOCK
need. If placed in a paddock of only coarse grass, most will eventually
die. Like goats and gazelles, capybara probably select a diet that is at
least 15 percent richer in crude protein than a typical cattle diet.~°
High mortality has never been observed in Venezuela, but keeping
the animals alive on a farm in some areas may not be easy. In one
trial, more than half (55 percent) of the capybara died of disease, and
a few of septicemia (the result of wounds incurred during fightsJ, but
most apparently of trypanosomiasis. Other losses were caused by
speeding vehicles (29 percent), poaching (6 percent), and predation,
mainly by jaguars (12 percent).)'
RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS
It is important for researchers to undertake the following:
.
lion.
Gather specimens from different regions for comparative evalua
· Assess experiences of zoos and farms.
· Undertake nutritional trials.
· Initiate captive breeding trials measurements of growth rates,
space requirements, feed needs.
· Characterize the animal's productivity.
· Study the capybara's basic physiology and production potentials.
· Investigate biological factors, such as reproductive physiology,
and social behavior (both in the wild and under controlled conditions).
· Determine the factors influencing capybara reproduction, growth,
and development.
· Determine the animal's adaptability and economic merit in various
farming systems.
· Study the influence of environment on reproduction rate.
· Determine their complementarily with water buffalo or other
ruminants that normally use swampy habitats.
· Determine relative causes of mortality (such as diseases specific
to capybaras) and predation (especially of the young) by spectacled
caiman, crested caracayes, black vultures, and others.
'I Information from R. McDowell.
" G.B. Schaller and P.G. Crawshaw, Jr. 1981. Social organization in a capybara
population. Sonderdruck aus Saugetierkundliche Mitteilungen, BLV Verlagsgesellschaft
mbH Munchen 40, 29. Jbg., Heft 1, Seite 3-16, February 1981.
OCR for page 215
OCR for page 216
-
- -
~-
'1^
- -
yr- (
/
~ - ~
\ --)N
-
-
-
,,11~J :: 4~,g' :~I 1~: j;¢~ Ij7j~I
1, ill \ \ ~ ! \, I it, ~ 5~ i| |:ll/ Act ;~ /h/.l /
Representative terms from entire chapter:
social behavior
