Don't hold me down
It finally happened, I had my big debut as Capybara Ambassador. It is fitting that I debuted at the Buda Public Library because Caplin Rous had two big appearances there (you can read about them here) and if I’m going to step into his pawprints, it is good to start in a place where he was well loved.
In the photo above you can see that I’m dragging Melly around a little bit. Okay, I am a big enough capybara to admit that I was nervous. Very nervous. I couldn’t hold still for most of the presentation. And I might have been sweating a little. And shaking. Even so, I think I still made a pretty good impression.
Here are a few of the slides from the presentation.
Introduction
Excuse me! Why did I get second billing? I was the star! I am not going to do this anymore if I don’t get the recognition I deserve.
I am so much more than this!
I cannot be boiled down into just 13 bullet items and three photos. This slide does seem to prove the saying that a photo is worth 1,000 words.
Capybara Facts
Melly needs some new wild capybara photos, I’ve seen these too many times. The map is stolen from Wikipedia.
Do you know your noses?
Melly went through a few slides where she showed close-ups of animal parts. The kids had to guess what type of animal they were from and whether that animal was a rodent. Can you guess?
The rodent is the cutest animal
After the kids had all guessed, Melly showed a slide with the complete animal and she told them which is the rodent. (The guinea pig!)
Teeth are an important identifier for rodents
I think all the kids might have gotten this one right.
That is me in image A!
Flopsy is image D. Image C is a fish that jumped into Melly’s boat in Venezuela.
Cute rodents
After a few more slides where kids identified the rodents, Melly put up this slide featuring a bunch of cute rodents. I wonder if my fans can identify all of them?
Cute rodent
Then there was a slide of just photos of me. Honestly, what is that one of me using the bathroom doing in there? I’m sure the kids don’t want to see something like that.
Sitting quietly
I don’t know why people thought it was so strange that I wanted to sit in a chair. Okay, so the kids were sitting on the floor but Rick always brings his own chair to things like this. Maybe Melly was supposed to sit here, I don’t know, but she wasn’t in it when I saw it and it’s not like her name was on it or anything.
Step right up! Get your picture with a capybara!
After the talk, all the kids wanted to get their picture taken with me. Melly got me a smaller chair and I got up on that for the photos. It worked out quite well, I hope. Our photos all turned out blurry.
Stadium seating
I got tired of sitting on the chair so toward the end of the photo shoot, when most people were gone, I got up on the top of this little grandstand and held court there. That is Nic Lara with my leash. I’m pretty sure I could drag him all over town but I like him so I stayed with him.
Not all fans are children
Not all my fans are children. A lot of adults came up to pet me and get their photos taken. And I think the adults asked just as many questions as the kids did. I’m glad I’m a capybara for all ages.
Wish Gari could visit our schools/libraries here in NJ … even though there are several capybaras in our local zoo, most people have no idea what they are! Good job Gari!
This is awesoooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmme!!!!!!!! I can’t wait til I see you again. Plus I found out how Gari’s rolling action can save the day. Maybe I can make a comic of it.
So awesome! Good job Gari and Melly ^_^
Gari! You did it! Look how many fans you have! And there you were, worried that no one would come!
(I agree that 13 bullet points just cannot describe your regal demeanor, but Melly probably knew that the people have to experience you to understand just how great you are.)
What a great presentation!
Loved it, well done!
I didn’t know you were finally sleeping w/ Melly.
She must be very happy abt that, hope you don’t move too much.
what a great presentation! our library has Phil the groundhog in a faux environment.
Oh, Gari! You did SO WELL! You are so great, and if you came to Denver, I would make sure all my friends came to meet you. <3
Very funny account of your visit. I agree that you ought to get top billing. After all, Melly going to the library alone wouldn’t be quite the same thing.
The slide show sounds interesting too. Though the one with all the teeth is scary, especially that fish. It looks ferocious.
Glad that you let everyone pet you & that you were such a good ambassador for capys & rodents.
You’re the best Gari! I loved the slide with all the photos of you on it. You’re a star.
Janet
I like when you were holding court on the grandstand — it’s a PER-FECT place for you! Plus I don’t see why you can’t sit in a chair!
What a great job you did, Gari!! It looks like everyone was thrilled to see you, and why not, you’re a superstar! But what was that line on the slide about you not biting? A teeeeny fib, maybe?
I love that Floppers and Hello Pineapple got in on the slides, too! I wish you could come and visit me, but that would be a very very long ride in the car, and not even Sheldon could handle that, I bet.
How cool! Great job capbassador! What a great presentation for the kids, that sideshow looked awesome.
We need gari to visit in pennsylvania we don’t even have capys in the zoo near me.
[…] the Buda Library. I have been to the Buda Library before and you can read about it in my blog post, Buda Library 2012. Apparently, Caplin Rous set a precedent so now all capybaras have to go to the library for […]