Named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and the New York Public Library “Purely exquisite.”—Kirkus (Starred) For kids ages 4-8, a charming and hilarious tale about capybaras: the beloved animal sensation capturing children’s hearts! Hens and their chicks love their warm, snug home. Life is simple and comfortable in the chicken coop, where everyone knows their place and worries are far away. Until one day, when the capybaras appear. To the hens, the capybaras are too big, too wet, and too hairy. They don’t even follow the rules! But it’s hunting season, and the capybaras need somewhere safe to hide. Can the hens learn to get along with their unexpected guests? This delightful story shares the importance of opening our hearts to each other, no matter our differences, and the marvelous surprises that can happen along the way. An Aldana Libros Book, Greystone Kids

This natural history details information about the capybaras' anatomy, ecology, behavior, biology, conservation, management, and taxonomy. Capybaras are robust and agile, and reach the size of a small pig and weigh upward of 100 pounds at maturity. They range throughout South American tropical wetlands. Largely extirpated from their former haunts through agricultural practices and poaching, they have adapted well to human management and conservation efforts and are frequently raised on ranches as valued sources of both meat and leather. The herbivorous rodents play a vital role in the ecosystems of natural grasslands, wetlands, and gallery forests and are commonly prey for caimans, anacondas, jaguars, and pumas. The book describes the capybaras' known history; the diseases, parasites, and hazards they face; and their population and behavioral characteristics. It also discusses how they interact with predators and other animals and explains their long-running and growing commercial importance to humankind.

With the look of a pig-size beaver, it is not readily apparent that the water-loving capybara is actually a rodentÑthe largest, in fact! For this hairy mammal, the water is a source of food, safety, and comfort. See why the capybara sets up camp near rivers, ponds, and lakes in this informative book for beginning readers.

Capybaras are the biggest rodents in the world! These social animals live in large groups and spend lots of time in water. Get all the facts on these huge rodents.

Capybaras are the largest rodents on Earth. Learn about their history, behavior, lifecycle, and the conservation efforts that are being done to protect these furry creatures.

Capybaras are social animals that spend most of their time near lakes, ponds, and marshes across South America. Called “water pigs,” these champion swimmers are also the world’s largest rodent. Discover more about these friendly animals in All About South American Capybaras, one of 30 books in our Animals Around the World series. Each title is beautifully illustrated with large, eye-catching photographs, a map, and glossary.

The capybara is the neotropical mammal with the highest potential for production and domestication. Amongst the favorable characteristics for domestication we can list its high prolificacy, rapid growth rate, a herbivorous diet, social behavior and relative tameness. The genus (with only two species) is found from the Panama Canal to the north of Argentina on the east of the Andes. Chile is the only country in South America where the capybara is not found. The species is eaten all over its range, especially by poor, rural and traditional communities engaged in subsistence hunting. On the other hand, in large urban settlements wildlife is consumed by city dwellers as a delicacy. The sustainable management of capybara in the wild has been adopted by some South American countries, while others have encouraged capybara rearing in captivity.

In a hidden spot near the water of the Amazon rain forest, a mother capybara gives birth to her babies. So begins the life of the largest rodent on Earth! In this coming-of-age introduction to these fuzzy jungle babies, readers will see how a baby capybara spends its day, how it communicates with others, and how it will join a herd of other capybaras and stay with them for the rest of the animal’s life. The colorful interior spreads and gorgeous photos of capybara babies are sure to delight emergent readers.

A beautifully illustrated first guide to cute capybaras from expert Dr. Julia Mata, featuring stunning illustrations by Greco Westermann. You might know that capybaras are totally adorable and are related to guinea pigs, but there’s so much more to learn about these cuddly creatures! Discover how capybaras are perfectly adapted to swimming, why they like birds riding on their backs, and what makes them eat their own poop! You’ll also discover what it takes to become a capybara zoologist. Filled with simple science and plenty of animal facts, it’s a must for all capybara fans! Capybara (Young Zoologist) is part of an exciting series of collectable animal books from Neon Squid aiming to inspire the next generation of biologists and conservationists.

Human exploitation of other mammals has passed through three histori cal phases, distinct in their ecological significance though overlapping in time. Initially, Homo sapiens was a predator, particularly of herbivores but also of fur-bearing predators. From about 11 000 years ago, goats and sheep were domesticated in the Middle East, rapidly replacing gazelles and other game as the principal source of meat. The principal crops, including wheat and barley, were taken into agriculture at about the same time, and the resulting Neolithic farming culture spread slowly from there over the subsequent 10 500 years. In a few places such as Mexico, Peru and China, this Middle Eastern culture met and merged with agricultural traditions that had made a similar but independent transition. These agricultural traditions provided the essential support for the industrial revolution, and for a third phase of industrial exploita tion of mammals. In this chapter, these themes are drawn out and their ecological signifi cance is investigated. Some of the impacts of humans on other mammals require consideration on a world-wide basis, but the chapter concen trates, parochially, on Great Britain. What have been the ecological consequences of our exploitation of other mammals? 2. 2 HISTORICAL PHASES OF EXPLOITATION 2. 2. 1 Predatory man Our nearest relatives - chimpanzees, orang utans and gorillas - are essentially forest species, deriving most of their diet from the fruits of forest trees and the shoots and leaves of plants.