Well, this is interesting! Is there really a herd of capybaras living Wild & Free in Florida? I’m ready to fly down there to see for myself! Is this a real photo of them, or some stock photo of zoo capys? SO MANY QUESTIONS!

Where’s the grass?

From the article:

“In 1995, a wildlife facility near Gainesville was keeping a group of Capybaras for research when a number of them escaped and vanished into the nearby swamps. Today, the wild Gainesville Capybara colony numbers at least 60 individuals. Elsewhere in Florida, escaped/released pets (kept illegally) often turn up: there have been reports from the Santa Fe, Myakka, and Suwanee Rivers and from the Everglades, and road-killed Capybaras have been confirmed in several places across Florida. In 2001, two young Capybaras managed to escape from the Jacksonville Zoo; one was killed by a car, and during the search for the escapees an unrelated adult female was also found living in the area.”

Anyone out there in the Gaineville area willing to check this out?

Link to the article:

Daily Bucket: Florida’s Invaders–Capybara.

(Beware of the comments on the article: predictably they are hunting and recipe oriented. What is wrong with people?)