The title of my post (above) is a joke. It may not be funny, but it is a joke nonetheless. I don't know if you all remember during COVID-19, but in many places, wild animals returned to cities. I remember pumas, civets, wild boars, elk, monkeys, and more enjoying the empty city streets. Apparently, capybaras expanded in Argentina and have decided to stay.
You can read more here, but I have known about capybaras for a while. Here is why. The Los Angeles Zoo has always played a big part in species recovery in sync with other zoos. It successfully breed and reintroduced the Golden Lion Tamarin into Brazil, where they have reproduced in great numbers. Before that, it was the Kudu of Southern Africa threatened by wars.
About 20 years ago, right before we left for New York, the Los Angeles Zoo worked with large, endangered Rodents (RUSs - get it?*). Anyway, the largest of these were the capybaras. I remember them lounging in the faux forest and pool at the Zoo.
Apparently, it worked! And now, some capybaras are like deer back east - they have repopulated quickly because their principal predators don't like human populations, and capybaras have decided humans are no threat any longer. Kind of funny.
* ROUSs or Rodents of Unusual Size were the names of the large rats in the Fire Forest of the Princess Bride.
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