Today’s blog post doesn’t really have a topic other than me. I guess I didn’t really learn anything new or do anything exciting. But that didn’t keep Melly from following me around with her camera. So we’re just going to run with that.

#2: Action [...]]]>

#1: Me and my pool toy

Today’s blog post doesn’t really have a topic other than me. I guess I didn’t really learn anything new or do anything exciting. But that didn’t keep Melly from following me around with her camera. So we’re just going to run with that.

#2: Action shot!

I have to admit that Melly and I make a good team, I am super photogenic and she’s a reasonable photographer. Actually, you don’t have to be much of a photographer to take good photos of me because the camera *loves* me.

#3: Me and Coral at the pool.

The camera loves Coral too but not as much as it loves me. You can see that in the above photo because I look so much cuter than she does. Guess what! I didn’t even bite her fingers although I totally could have.

#4: Me rolling for joy

Part of the reason I’m so photogenic is because I have such a happy disposition. When you’ve got a smile in your heart it always shows in the photos. Can’t you just see my inner joy in the photo above?

#5: Me and the lifesaver

My pool isn’t very deep–even I can stand up to breath in it although I don’t have to–so I don’t know why we need this lifesaver. It does make a pretty nice toy though. I can pull it around using the ropes along the outside.

#6: Circles were made to be broken

This isn’t the hula hoop, it’s another hoop that Melly put in the pool for me to bite. I am making very good progress on this hoop. I thought you might like to see a photo of me right side up, just so you know I’m not always swimming upside down.

#7: Time to get out

I have discovered that I love swimming but I can’t do it all of the time. Sometimes I have to get out so I can go in the house and eat. Melly and Rick want me to eat more grass but its so much more civilized to eat food out of a bowl on a nice soft rug.

#8: Me and the rabbits sharing a repast

My rabbit co-pets, Mapple (right) and Oakley (left), frequently share a meal with me. I’m cool with that as long as they’ll let me chase them later. They need some fuel in their little bunny systems to hop fast and make the game more interesting. Someday I will have to let Melly video me chasing them and I’ll be sure to post it here on my blog.

#9: Happiness is a good scratch

There’s nothing like a good scratch to end an exhausting day. A scratch is also good in the morning when you first wake up. Or in the afternoon when you’re trying to replenish your energy. Or in the middle of the night when you’re bored because everyone is asleep. There’s actually no time when I good scratch isn’t appreciated.

#10: Resting on the paw

Melly’s camera can be annoying sometimes, like when I’m trying to sleep and she sneaks up on me and takes my picture. I can always hear the stupid camera shutter and I find that noise annoying, not to mention the flash.

#11: Goodnight!

At the end of the day I sleep the innocent, deep sleep of a capybara.

That sums up my week in pictures, hope you enjoyed it. You can vote on your favorite photo from this blog post on the right sidebar.

My good friend and FaceBook follower Lauren Thompson recently visited York’s Wild Kingdom in York, Maine. She got some great photos of my relatives and agreed to share them here with my readers. If you’re in the York area, this zoo / amusement park looks like it [...]]]>

Capy naps at York's Wild Kingdom

My good friend and FaceBook follower Lauren Thompson recently visited York’s Wild Kingdom in York, Maine. She got some great photos of my relatives and agreed to share them here with my readers. If you’re in the York area, this zoo / amusement park looks like it has a very nice capybara set up. Drop in and visit. Let them know that Caplin Rous and Lauren Thompson sent you! Maybe they’ll give you a discount .(Disclaimer: I have no reason to believe they will.)

One of the great things about the park is this large sign advertising the large size of the world’s largest rodent! I am certainly not as big as the capybara on that sign, but my cousin Little might be!

Lauren Thompson with "Largest Rodent" sign.

For some reason Lauren thought it was funny that this capybara was sitting in his food bowl.

Capybara in food bowl at York's Wild Kingdom

I don’t get what’s so funny. He looks very comfortable. Don’t humans do that?

Young capybara at York's Wild Kingdom

This young capybara looks healthy and happy.

The only thing missing from Lauren’s photos is a nice big pond or pool for the capybaras to swim in. I’m afraid they might not have one and they really should. Capybaras are at our cutest and most active when we are in the water. Seeing us lounge about on land is nice but it doesn’t give you a good sense of the dynamic creatures we can be.

One of the reasons my owner decided to get me was because she saw my wild cousins on her last trip to Venezuela. That was in Feb. 2007 and she got me that July. Not a coincidence. So I owe these capybaras my very life…or at least my lifestyle. I [...]]]>

Capybaras at sunset.

One of the reasons my owner decided to get me was because she saw my wild cousins on her last trip to Venezuela. That was in Feb. 2007 and she got me that July. Not a coincidence. So I owe these capybaras my very life…or at least my lifestyle. I have to admit, I have it pretty cush. These capys have no idea there even is such a thing as air-conditioning, or even heating for that matter. Imagine what that must be like.

Capybara family. Male in front, female and infant.

I love looking at these photos even though I wouldn’t really like to be a wild capybara. It is something to dream about but not something to really do. What would it be like to live in a big band like this one?

Band of wild capybaras at Hato El Frio, Venezuela

And I’ve always wanted a bird to come sit on my back. These North American birds just won’t do it.

I want a bird on my back like these two capys have.

The dark side of the story is the dangerous predators wild capybaras face. I don’t know why my owner and her kids seem to happy hold this killer animal. Don’t they know how dangerous anacondas are?

My owner (Melanie) and kids (Coral and Philip) with deadly anaconda.

This caiman is probably stalking a baby capybara. They are ruthless murderers of small capys.

A killer caiman no doubt searching for baby capybaras.

If you want to see capybaras in the wild, my owner and I recommend Hato El Frio, where these photos were taken.

Baby capybara at the Malaysian National Zoo

Too [...]]]> My FaceBook friend AJ Allens sent me these cool photos of capybaras at the National Zoo in Malaysia. Looks like they have a pretty nice enclosure. And I love the way you can see into the water to watch their graceful swimming. Thanks AJ!

Baby capybara at the Malaysian National Zoo

Too bad the capys are behind glass.

AJ Allens at the capybara enclosure at the National Zoo of Malaysia

Up close and personal!

There aren’t many of us pet capybaras in the world, at least not ones that live in the house and the yard with our owners. But for those humans who have experienced the love of a capybara, there is nothing like it. And that is why it [...]]]>

Penelope really knew how to accessorize

There aren’t many of us pet capybaras in the world, at least not ones that live in the house and the yard with our owners. But for those humans who have experienced the love of a capybara, there is nothing like it. And that is why it is especially sad when one of us dies. So many hearts are broken. Especially if the capybara is as cute, as sweet and as loving as Penelope Capybara.

I never had the opportunity to meet Penelope personally although we were related. I believe she was my half-first-cousin-once-removed, or something like that. But I followed her life from a distance via email and FaceBook and so I know just how special she was.

Penelope was the runt of her litter, so tiny that her breeders, Mary Lee and Amos Stropes, didn’t think she should go home with anyone until they were more sure of her health. But when Lisa and Anthony came to pick out a baby capybara, they couldn’t leave with anyone but Penelope. There was no way Mary Lee could convince them to take home a different ‘bara. And Penelope loved them right back. She’d never been handled and yet she immediately found warmth, love and comfort in Lisa and Anthony’s arms.

This is what love looks like (when it involves a capybara)

Penelope settled into her new home and immediately molded it to her liking. Like the famous Capyboppy, Penelope loved a shower. Lisa was shocked at first by how a motivated Penelope could jump high enough to get into the shower with her, but soon it became a common occurrence.

And Penelope loved Anthony too, listening to him play his electric guitar, she’d poof up to show her contentment. Apparently folk/rock agreed with her.

But her winning ways didn’t stop there. Penelope was also the favorite of Delilah, an 8-year-old rabbit with an attitude. Before Penelope, Delilah didn’t get along with any of her co-pets. She chased and bit at the guinea pigs and other bunnies. But Penelope changed all that. She used Delilah as a pillow and the rabbit even shared her food bowl with the young capybara.

Penelope and Deliliah-Pillow

Not that Penelope couldn’t be a pest. It’s hard to do anything when a little capybara insists on following you everywhere, sitting or standing between your feet, looking up with those big dark eyes and wiggling ears and eeping to be held. Especially if the capy’s face is covered with yogurt (she got that from my side of the family!).

Penelope’s life was much too short. She died suddenly and without a long illness, probably due a congenital problem that stunted her growth. She will be missed terribly but she brought love, beauty and comedy to many, many lives. And for all her five months, she knew she was loved by her humans and her best friend co-pet Delilah, and by a wide network of people who cannot own their own capybara but dream of one just like Penelope.

The scrathes were worth the humiliation.

Please leave a comment for Lisa and Anthony.

What is that thing? Does it bite?

My twitter friend, @Kotaro took these photos at the Nagasaki Bio Park last February. This bio-park is one of the best places to see capybaras in the world. You get to go in with them and pet them and put Kapibara-san toys on their heads.

What is that thing? Does it bite?

Get that thing off my back! (Although it is cute. Kapibara-san wearing a cow costume.)

Wearing cow ears to celebrate the new year. Now where did I leave my dignity?

Soaking in a hot tub looks like fun.

It finally happened! After all the hoopla, all the media-buildup, all the anticipation, I actually turned two on Friday.

The funny thing is, being two feels exactly like being one. I expected something more. I thought maybe my body would tingle all over. Or maybe I [...]]]>

Me with birthday card by Jim Perry

It finally happened! After all the hoopla, all the media-buildup, all the anticipation, I actually turned two on Friday.

The funny thing is, being two feels exactly like being one. I expected something more. I thought maybe my body would tingle all over. Or maybe I would sprout little wings on my back. Or maybe something even weirder like being able to speak human. But none of that happened. I did get blueberry yogurt for breakfast but then my owner nonchalantly meandered off to work, just like it was a regular day. In fact, she even came home a little late.

I tried to be all upset when my owner got home, I know you have to punish bad behavior and reward good behavior otherwise they will never learn, but I just got so excited to see her. Same thing happens every day but I never get used to it and I can’t control my emotions. I jumped in the pool and my owner got in with me. I think she did that ‘cause she loves me and not because it was 105 degrees.

My owner brought a new “thing” in the pool with her. She said it was my present and that it is perfect for me because it combines two things I love, a hoop to come up inside of and a floatation device. I looked at it and sure, it’s nice, but is it better than my inner tube or my tire? Plus, it’s white and I don’t think that’s a good color on me. So I decided to ignore it, at least for the short-term.

Next morning we got up early and rushed around the house. I only got about a 15 min soak in the bathtub instead of my usual hour so I wasn’t happy about that. Sheldon came over and helped pull stuff from hither and thither to pack in the car. I put on my new sequined harness that my FaceBook friend Mansie OLeary made for me. Then we were off to the park for my birthday party.

I have to say, the party was great! My owner even remembered to bring me a tub of water so I could soak and get some relief from the heat. My friend Clarissa walked me around a lot. A bunch of my old co-workers from when I had a job as company mascot at Obsidian Software came and lots of them brought their kids.

Becky Cavanaugh, one of Obsidian's founders, introduces me to her son Charlie

And new friends came too. People I’d met around town or who are my virtual friends and now became my physical friends. (That is actually kind-of weird.)

Everyone wanted to pet me and feed me. That's my kind of party!

And I got presents! I got a gift card for yogurt, lots of blueberries and other treats, and Jim Perry gave me the coolest birthday card ever. We had a new friend, Etienne Lepine, from the Austin American-Statesman come and take pictures and video for the newspaper. There were stickers and coloring pages for the kids. And a delicious blueberry upside-down cake that Monica made for me. Monica and I are birthday buddies too! We have the same birthday (but in different years). I don’t like my blueberries diluted so I didn’t have any cake but the humans all enjoyed it immensely.

Look at the great cake my birthday buddy Monica made for me.

After the party my owner and I were exhausted. We took a long nap. Then we went out to the pool and I played with my new toy. She’s right. I do love it.

About to consume my gift of organic blueberries

Me & my owner with my new pool toy

Me shaking in the pool. That hat was on pretty tight.

I can't help it that I am so photogenic.

Patriotic whiskers.

Do I [...]]]> My owner has this crazy habit of dressing me up in costumes for the major (non-religious) holidays. So here I am for today’s US Independence Day.

Me shaking in the pool. That hat was on pretty tight.

I can't help it that I am so photogenic.

Patriotic whiskers.

Do I really have to wear this while I swim?