Love it

A hug for you, and you, and you, and you too.

One thing I've learned since becoming interested in capybaras is that their calm appearance doesn't tell us everything about what they're experiencing. Capybaras are often described as exceptionally calm animals, but there's much more to them than that. They're highly social, semi-aquatic herbivores with their own individual personalities, relationships and ways of communicating.

There is so much to learn from simply observing them rather than treating them as a meme or a novelty. Small things like how they approach, communicate, rest and interact with one another can tell us a lot about who they are.

During one of my recent zoo visits, one of the 2 capybaras came to rest beside the fence. I slowly reached over and gently scratched him. Things like the hair puff and head raising commonly occur during positive social interactions and enjoyable scratching. Every so often I stopped to see what he would do. At one point he rolled enough that I could reach one of his feet only. Feeling the warmth of his body for the first time was something I'll probably remember for a very long time, and I was surprised by just how soft his ears were.

This interaction lasted for nearly an hour before he stood up and walked back to his companion to eat. In the video, he looked at me as if he was trying to say that probably no other visitor would interact with him for this long. This is how you can tell that individual capybaras have their own personalities and can enjoy positive interactions and a reminder that a single heartwarming moment doesn't tell everything about how they really feel. I'm really grateful I got the chance to experience this moment with one of them. ❤️

I went back to the same zoo yesterday about two months after my previous visit and something special happened.

I had met and interacted with these capybaras during my previous visit about two months ago, and when one of them approached me again, I immediately recognized her. She was chirping as she came over, and when I started scratching, the sounds became more soft too. I couldn't help wondering whether she recognized me too.

Seeing the same individual again and having her voluntarily come up to me was a lovely experience. The interaction only lasted around five minutes this time.

Only entering the enclosure was prohibited but interacting with the animals is allowed and it's entirely up to them if they want to move away from the fence.

I also ended up having a conversation with one of the keepers about the capybaras, their social lives, feeding and welfare. I got to share some of what I've learned over the past year as well which was really meaningful to me.

The keeper also told me that both capybaras are actually female!

I had considered buying some zoo pellets so I could interact with them more, but the keeper explained that pellets aren't their preferred food and that these particular capybaras don't really like them anyway. So I just let them decide whether they wanted to come over.

He did it, so can you! ❤️

Omg, omg ❤️‍🩹❤️❤️‍🩹❤️❤️‍🩹❤️

I'm just so happy for him.

I need this in my yard.

Okay the onions are definitely making me tear up this time. Omg😭

And this adorableness is why you have a second child, the child that never sleeps and vomits a lot. No, seriously, this is why kiddos are just so great. You never know from day to day what surprises they hold.