Large rodents reclaim habitat regardless of rich human neighbors

Turns out these giant rat relatives are screwing your fancy suburban slave.

Capybaras have invaded an affluent housing estate – chewing flower beds, harassing beloved pets, and pooping on manicured lawns, much to the chagrin of suburban Buenos Aires affluent residents. However, environmentalists say the animals did indeed roam free on the land once – so they are just taking back what is theirs.

Considered the largest rodents in the world, capybaras are indeed native to the upscale Northern Delta neighborhood of Argentina, as well as much of South America. But when developers cleared 3,000 acres of critical wetlands on the banks of the Parana River in the late 1990s to create this community of million dollar homes, the capybara population almost disappeared from their original habitat.

However, La Nacion has reported that the capyble creatures, also known in the region as carpinchos, are back with a vengeance to reclaim their homeland – to the detriment of the lush landscaping throughout the North Delta.

Nordelta spokesman Marcelo Canton said in a statement to Reuters that the displaced creatures are known to devour gardens, terrorize dogs and defecate with savage devotion, despite “no risk to humans”.

About 400 capybaras roam free through the suburban north delta community of Buenos Aires. Known as the largest rodents in the world, they can grow to be 1.2 meters long and 175 pounds.AFP via Getty Images

Many of the total of 40,000 residents have claimed the capybaras wreak havoc in their homes, use their flower beds as toilets, and are supposedly terrifying pet dogs – so Nordelta homeowners say they have to go, although the big ones, which can reach high, have to go to Bis up to four feet long and weighing 175 pounds, rodents are known for their docile behavior.

“It’s the other way around: Nordelta has invaded the Carpinchos ecosystem,” Enrique Viale, Argentine environmental advocate and attorney, said in a statement to The Guardian.

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

Capybaras are considered to be the largest rodents in the world, as they can be up to six feet long and weigh 175 pounds.AFP via Getty Images

Indeed, it was hubris that drove the residents of North Delta in the end. When the capybaras went, their natural enemies went like jaguars. But big cats are not as accessible to human coexistence as the sociable rodent. So when the capybaras sneaked back into the region, they had no one or nothing to stop them – or to curb their now booming population population.

“This has caused anger among some neighbors, who are demanding quick and urgent measures to control the capybaras. That is not a solution for today. “

North Delta spokesman Marcelo Canton

Capybaras have seen a 17% increase in their North Delta population over the past year – currently up to 400 individuals. However, experts say the number could climb to nearly 3,000, as full-grown female capybaras can produce up to 15 puppies a year, according to a LiveScience report.

Residents urge officials to create more capybara deterrents, such as: B. reinforced fences. Others have vowed to take matters into their own hands by chasing the animals, although the Guardian has not yet reported any killing of capybaras.

The Nordelta community has seen the local capybara population grow by 17% since last year.REUTERS

“It’s the other way around: Nordelta has invaded the Carpinchos ecosystem,” says Enrique Viale, Argentine environmental lawyer and attorney.REUTERS

The canton of Nordelta said of the demands of its municipality: “This has caused the anger of some neighbors who are calling for quick and urgent measures to control the capybaras. That is not a solution for today. “

Environmentalists also quickly came to the defense of the capybara and organized protests in the northern delta to demand government protection for the animal. It is said that Argentina’s underprivileged population see the capybara as a mascot for a common cause against the city’s richest residents, who not only drove away animals but also disadvantaged people.

Protesters wear capybara-inspired headgear to support the species’ efforts to reclaim their homeland.AP

As Viale explained in The Guardian, “As always, it is the poor who end [up] pay the price. “

While environmentalists are sounding the alarm about the human destruction of precious wetlands and their wild inhabitants, some experts and officials agree that the influx of capybaras may be the new normal for the North Delta – until they find more humane means of population control

The spokesman for North Delta said: “We want the capybaras to continue to live here. We live well with them, we like them, but we don’t think there is enough space for them. So we have to stop the population growth. “

Environmentalists gather on August 29, 2021 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the gates of the Nordelta residential complex, concerned about the fate of a large number of capybaras that have settled there.AP