How big does a Capybara get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) reaches an average size of 1.22 meter (4′ 0″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 12 years, they grow from 1.5 kg (3.31 lbs) to 47.5 kg (104.72 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Capybaras have 3 babies about 1 times per year. The Capybara (genus: Hydrochaeris) is a member of the family Hydrochaeridae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a giant cavy rodent native to South America. It is the largest living rodent in the world. Also called capivara (in Brazil), chigüire, chigüiro (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru), it is a member of the genus Hydrochoerus, of which the only other extant member is the lesser capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius). Its close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the coypu. The capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually lives in groups of 10–20 individuals. The capybara is not a threatened species, but it is hunted for its meat and hide and also for grease from its thick fatty skin.
Animals with the same size as a Capybara
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Capybara:
- Abbott’s duiker with a size of 1.18 meter (3′ 11″)
- Giant anteater with a size of 1.12 meter (3′ 9″)
- Capybara with a size of 1.21 meter (4′ 0″)
- Cougar with a size of 1.4 meter (4′ 8″)
- Mountain gazelle with a size of 1.01 meter (3′ 4″)
- Dhole with a size of 98.8 cm (3′ 3″)
- Jentink’s duiker with a size of 1.35 meter (4′ 6″)
- Himalayan goral with a size of 1.06 meter (3′ 6″)
- Common warthog with a size of 1.36 meter (4′ 6″)
- Mountain reedbuck with a size of 1.23 meter (4′ 1″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Capybara
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Capybara:
- Nagtglas’s African dormouse
- Mexican volcano mouse
- Long-clawed mole vole
- Orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel
- Savanna gerbil
- Asian palm civet
- Forest dormouse
- Canyon mouse
- Horsfield’s shrew
- Slender squirrel
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Capybara
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Capybara:
- Silver-haired bat with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Common spotted cuscus with an average maximal age of 11 years
- Southern flying squirrel with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Ord’s kangaroo rat with an average maximal age of 9.75 years
- Lesser long-nosed bat with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Chinese ferret-badger with an average maximal age of 10.5 years
- Prince Demidoff’s bushbaby with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Bush dog with an average maximal age of 10.33 years
- Greater bamboo lemur with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Pudú with an average maximal age of 12.5 years
Animals with the same weight as a Capybara
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris:
- Northern fur seal with a weight of 55.58 kilos (122.53 lbs)
- Tucuxi with a weight of 42.82 kilos (94.4 lbs)
- Siberian roe deer with a weight of 41.19 kilos (90.81 lbs)
- Bharal with a weight of 52.16 kilos (114.99 lbs)
- Japanese serow with a weight of 42.6 kilos (93.92 lbs)
- Vaquita with a weight of 43.11 kilos (95.04 lbs)
- Celebes warty pig with a weight of 53.46 kilos (117.86 lbs)
- Philippine deer with a weight of 49.46 kilos (109.04 lbs)
- Harbour porpoise with a weight of 52.72 kilos (116.23 lbs)
- Nubian ibex with a weight of 47.68 kilos (105.12 lbs)