Stacy’s Funny Farm (with The Pipsqueakery) rescued an elderly capybara in very early 2022. Pandabara was being phased out of a petting zoo and so was offered for sale at a price you would expect to pay for a healthy baby capybara.
Pandabara is spending her sunset years in Texas, where she looks askance at the younger capybara on the other side of the fence. She wants nothing to do with the frisky child-capybara growing up in the same family. She has everything she needs on her own side of the fence, thank you very much!
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- Stiff hind legs
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- Hungry for bamboo!
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- Thin and rough
When Pandabara first arrived in Texas, she was thin, her hind legs moved stiffly, and she looked pretty rough. She was clearly an elderly capybara. Some older capybaras develop cataracts, and Panda is no exception.
Cataracts, a cloudy area on the lens of the eye, impair vision.
Her appetite has been great from the beginning. She eats a variety of foods- anything offered, really. I have seen several other capybaras develop picky eating habits, but Panda’s willingness to try new foods has helped her to gain weight.
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- Picnic time
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- Dinner time
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- Capybaras love bamboo!
By the time I had a chance to fly out and check on her in fall of 2023, she was walking normally and had gained weight. She was younger than we had thought, or maybe an improved diet, fresh air, and exercise had restored her health. This is the best possible outcome for a rescued animal of any species.
Panda, all plumped up and showing off her pretty fur. (Fall 2023)
Panda has continued to improve, and while she isn’t as frisky as a pup, she does her fair share of scampering. Early on she soaked in the pond, but it has taken a while for her to be comfortable getting in and out of a wading pool.
She has a simple life. She eats, she swims, she ignores the capybara on the other side of the fence.
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- She loves her corn.
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- When the corn is devoured . . .
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- . . . Panda heads for the shrubbery.
What is she doing now?
Maybe she is hiding in the Texas jungle.
Maybe she is sunbathing in her hay pile.
We still believe she is an old capybara, maybe 8-10 years old. Funny thing, that’s exactly how old we thought she was two years ago! Maybe her wading pool is the Fountain of Youth!
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And now for a bonus video from the capybara on the other side of the fence. Here’s Snapper!
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Stacy’s Funny Farm is a §501(c)(3) non-profit organization and the former home of Dobby the capybara. We appreciate donations of any size. Monthly giving is especially helpful.
Dobby the Capybara 