Capybaras, World’s Greatest Rodents, Reoccupy Wealthy Suburb

• The Nordelta community in Buenos Aires, Argentina is an affluent housing estate built on natural wetlands.
• The capybaras have invaded the community with environmentalists who say they will simply return home.
• You are now at the center of a bitter environmental debate.

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In Argentina, a wealthy residential complex has been taken over by unexpected visitors: the largest rodents in the world, the capybaras.

Located in the capital Buenos Aires, the manicured lawns of Nordelta have been occupied by wild capybaras chewing on the grass, attacking dogs and pooping where they want, reports the local news agency La Nacion.

The rodents are approximately 39 to 51 inches long and weigh 60 to 174 pounds (27 to 79 kg), according to National Geographic.

Environmentalists say the influx of dog-sized rodents shouldn’t come as a shock, as the neighborhood’s luxury homes are built next to wetlands. Some of the animals come back to find what they once knew.

Argentine environmental advocate and ecologist Enrique Viale said we should not view the capybaras – known as “carpinchos” in Argentina – as an invasion of the territories.

“It’s the other way around: Nordelta has invaded the Carpinchos ecosystem,” Viale told The Guardian.

“Wealthy government-sponsored real estate developers must destroy nature in order to sell customers the dream of living in the wilderness – because the buyers of these homes want nature, but without mosquitoes, snakes or carpinchos,” he added.

“Nordelta is the oversized paradigm of residential complexes built on wetlands. The first thing it does is take over the absorbing role of the land, so that in extreme weather events the poorer surrounding neighborhoods are flooded, poor people who end up paying the price. “

—🇦🇷 (@CoupeFuego_) August 18, 2021

Many people take the view of Viale, with one person tweeting: “My support for the Peronist capybaras of the North Delta, which are regaining their habitat.”

In support, one person replied: “The Capybara Revolution !!”

The Parana wetlands cover much of the country, from northern Argentina to the River Plate and the Atlantic Ocean, but are shrinking as developers use the land for building, cattle and soy farms.

In 2020, the vast wetlands were on fire due to livestock, drought and rising temperatures.