If you should find yourself wandering the grounds of Lakeside Condos in Brasilia and happen to come across one of these hairy butterballs don’t say you haven’t been warned.
At first I thought it was a terracotta planter at the edge of the walkway. Rusty does not go on high alert for clay pots. You can see from his leash I was hanging on tight.
I was not in a position to do research but I have heard of these South American rodents, the biggest rodents in the world apparently and related to guinea pigs, and we have seen a few from a distance. In the marina at Lakeside they reminded me of the sea-lions snoozing on the docks in San Francisco.
Naturally this was on the morning I wasn’t carrying my camera and long lens as I had got a bit tired of photographing the condo complex.
My iPhone 12 mini, by now ancient technology, had to do.
If you go and look them up as I did you will discover reams of information about them. They are social animals mostly well adapted to living in water and able to hold their breaths up to five minutes. They aren’t endangered, they are herbivores and generally live to be ten or twelve if not earned by jaguars crocodiles or anaconda. Some humans eat them though as far as I can gather the literature seems to indicate they are poor peoples’ food at best.
Around here I’ve seen them chasing fallen mangoes as there are a great many wild mangoes throwing shade on the open spaces along the lake shore and in the parking lots. 
I’ve seen them at night when Rusty gets the urge to go for a three am walk and I have seen their droppings which are large and disturbingly humanoid on the lawns around the condos. I rather like that no one bothers them here.
Rusty watched them intently but they pretty much ignored him which was fine by me. I have no desire to end up gored by a capybara while defending my inquisitive dog.
It’s just another weird South American creature Rusty can add to his list of things he doesn’t much like which includes llama and Peruvian hairless dogs, wild ostriches and peacocks. 
Pondering the void as we all do from time to time.
