Completed
Capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassMammalia (Mammals)
- OrderRodentia (Rodents)
- FamilyCaviidae (Cavies)
- GenusHydrochoerus (Capybaras)
- SpeciesHydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Capybara)
In 3 days >90%
440 Verified sightings at Iberá National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,322 In all 11 parks
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted
Completed
About the Capybara
The capybara (/kæp.ɪˈbɑːr.ə, -băr′ə/ kap-uh-BAR-uh) or greater capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest living rodent, native to all countries in South America except Chile. It is a semiaquatic herbivore that inhabits savannas and dense forests, living near and in bodies of freshwater and feeding mainly on grasses and aquatic plants.
Together with the lesser capybara, it constitutes the genus Hydrochoerus. Its other close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the nutria. The capybara is a highly social species that usually lives in groups of 10–20 individuals, but can be found in groups as large as 100. It is hunted for its meat and hide and for grease from its thick fatty skin.
Its common name is derived from Tupi ka'apiûara, a complex agglutination of kaá (leaf) + píi (slender) + ú (eat) + ara (a suffix for agent nouns), meaning "one who eats slender leaves", or "grass-eater". The genus name, hydrochoerus, comes from Greek ὕδωρ (hýdor "water") and χοῖρος (choíros "pig, hog") and the species name, hydrochaeris, comes from Greek ὕδωρ (hýdor "water") and χαίρω (chairo "feel happy... Wikipedia →
Sounds
Call0:05
Argentina · 2023
© Bernard BOUSQUET · XC1059461 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:04
Uruguay · 2023
© Santiago Ramos · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:20
Argentina · 2024
© catachan · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recent sightings of Capybara in Iberá National Park
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 5 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 7 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 8 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 9 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 10 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 11 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Cities Where Found
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | João Pessoa | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Campinas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 7 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Belém | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Zoos & Centres Where Found
Closest Relatives at Iberá National Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Capybara in Iberá National Park?
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Capybara sighting in Iberá National Park on a given day, based on 440 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 13 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Capybara in Iberá National Park?
April–May, July and October–November
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Capybara in Iberá National Park on a given day, against about 80% in June, August–September and December–March, the lowest months.
What time of day is best to see a Capybara?
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Capybara sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Is Iberá National Park the best place to see a Capybara?
2nd of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Capybara sightings, Iberá National Park ranks 2nd at about 80%. The best odds are in El Palmar National Park (Argentina, about 90%). All parks ranked.
Where does the Capybara sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Capybara is recorded against all the mammals logged in Iberá National Park (440 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
