Remembering Caplin Rous: 2008 A

They grow up so fast!

Owner’s blog:

I am continuing my memorial to Caplin Rous, the World’s Most Beloved Capybara. These are all “new” photos, meaning I have never published them anywhere before.

By January 2008, Caplin Rous was already starting to look like a big capybara. He had grown into his head and his big eyes. Can you notice his most distinctive feature in the photo above? It’s the little light-colored tuft of fur between his ears. When he got older it wasn’t so prominent but it was always there. In this photo he is walking along our driveway looking for something to eat.

Did he really fit in that?

In just a few months, Caplin would become way too big to roll in this bowl. Unlike Garibaldi, Caplin never rolled all the way over. He would get nearly half-way and then roll back. He panicked the few times I saw him accidentally go all the way, it was as if the world had ended.

Caplin and Leopolda

It was starting to look like Caplin needed to be neutered. There isn’t much data on the internet or anywhere else about neutering capybaras. The one place I did find said all males should be neutered or they would become dangerous and that it should be done by nine months of age. Caplin was only six months old here.

Wild capybara!

No, he’s not really wild. It is Caplin Rous walking down by the creek. He really loved to go out and explore the property.

It's all in the look

Caplin’s nose started out pink but eventually turned dark when he was about two years old. Garibaldi is two and one half and his nose is still pink but a darker pink. Dobby, Caplin’s younger brother, is 3.5 now and his nose is mottled like Caplin’s was before it turned completely dark. But with either a dark nose or a pink one, who could resist that look?

Stand tall!

This photo demonstrates another difference between Caplin and Garibaldi. Gari cannot stand on his hind legs. I have never seen him do anything like this. When Caplin was a little older, I taught him to walk on his hind legs in order to get a treat. Gari’s problem is probably that his hind legs are a bit deformed.

Marking with his morillo

In this shot, 7-month-old Caplin is marking some plants with the morillo gland on the top of his nose. It looks like his fur was longer at this age than Garibaldi’s is now. You can really see the little tuft of hair on his forehead.

Quiet time

Caplin Rous had a very bad reaction to his neutering surgery and was partially paralyzed for about ten days. This photo was taken toward the end of that time. He could walk a little but not enough to graze so I brought him a bunch of hay and he lay down on it and ate. Of course capys prefer to eat lying down but it was different and heartbreaking when he didn’t have a choice.

Don’t forget that if you’d like to buy a Caplin Rous Commemorative Necklace, they are on sale for $15 until his birthday on July 10th. Supplies are limited.