AUGUST 15, 2016
by John Hopton
The capybara is the world's
largest rodent, reaching up to 50 kilograms or more. Not the kind of creature
you would want to spread out of control - but that could happen in Florida, according to an expert biologist.
Elizabeth Congdon of
Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach told the the 53rd Annual
Conference of the Animal Behavior Society that “Capybaras have
been introduced to northern Florida,” and that “several sightings suggest
they have been breeding."
That in itself may not seem too
worrying, but capybaras' similarity to nutria - large invasive rodents that
have run amok in several US states - suggests there could be trouble ahead.
Originating in South America, the
semiaquatic animals live in social groups in forests near bodies of water, such
as rivers, lakes or swamps. They have entered the state as pets, some of which
escape or are released.
Don't kill them all just yet
There are currently around 50
loose in northern Florida, and it is feared they may become an invasive species
- a species causing economic or environmental harm, or harm to humans.
“They might be able to make a go
of it in the United States,” Congdon said.
However, while they breed at a
considerable rate, it is as yet unclear if they share the nutria's destructive
trait of digging into riverbanks, levees and other places and causing the
ground to disintegrate.
Capybaras currently represent an
opportunity as well as a potential threat.
“We want to keep them from
spreading,” Congdon concludes, “but can we please not kill them all so I can
study them?”
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