The capybara 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 water 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 one hundred. It is hunted for its meat and hide and for grease from its thick fatty skin. == Etymology == 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, enjoy"). == Classification and phylogeny == The capybara…
Tijuca National Park
Brazil
+317 birds+13 mammals
Where the Atlantic forest rises steeply from Rio de Janeiro's urban edge, Tijuca National Park encompasses a landscape of dramatic granite peaks, cascading waterfalls, and closed-canopy…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKEmas National Park
Brazil
+333 birds+23 mammals
Across the high plateaux of central Brazil, where the cerrado grasslands roll toward distant horizons under an immense sky, Emas National Park anchors one of South…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKYasuní National Park
Aguarico, Ecuador
+601 birds+43 mammals
Where the western Amazon basin converges with Ecuador's Orellana Province, lowland rainforest reaches toward the horizon in an unbroken canopy of staggering botanical density. Yasuní National…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKNatural Sierra de la Macarena National Park
Vista Hermosa, Colombia
+566 birds+15 mammals
Across nearly 20,000 square kilometres of Colombia's Meta Department, the terrain rises from lowland savanna into Andean foothills through a mosaic of gallery forests, palm-fringed wetlands,…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKItatiaia National Park
Brazil
+519 birds+12 mammals
Where granite peaks pierce the Atlantic rainforest canopy in southeastern Brazil, Itatiaia National Park rises as one of the country's oldest and most ecologically vital protected…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSerra do Itajaí National Park
Brazil
+227 birds+2 mammals
Where the Atlantic rainforest rises steeply from the coastal plains of Santa Catarina, Serra do Itajaí National Park spreads across 1,136 square kilometres of montane wilderness…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKIguaçu National Park
Brazil
+387 birds+17 mammals
Where the Paraná Plateau plunges toward the Atlantic watershed, six thousand square kilometers of subtropical rainforest cling to steep gorges and river valleys in this corner…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKPantanal Matogrossense National Park
Brazil
+322 birds+17 mammals
Where the flooded forests of central Brazil meet vast seasonally inundated grasslands, Pantanal Matogrossense National Park sprawls across nearly 2,900 square kilometers of one of the…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCampos Amazónicos National Park
Amazonas, Brazil
+434 birds+7 mammals
Sprawling across the southwestern Amazon basin in Amazonas state, this 27,263-square-kilometre national park encompasses some of the region's most pristine lowland rainforest, where terra firme forest…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSerra do Divisor National Park
Brazil
+448 birds+10 mammals
Where the western Amazon meets the Andes foothills, Serra do Divisor National Park sprawls across one of South America's most biodiverse and least accessible frontiers. Spanning…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKManu National Park
Manu, Peru
+892 birds+26 mammals
Across the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes, tropical rainforest descends into the Amazon basin with a complexity that few terrestrial ecosystems match. Manu National Park…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKEl Palmar National Park
Distrito Sexto, Argentina
+244 birds+14 mammals
Across the Paraná River floodplain in northeastern Argentina, palms rise from wetland and grassland in a landscape shaped by water and time. El Palmar National Park…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCampos del Tuyú National Park
Argentina
+169 birds+5 mammals
Subtropical forest graces the borderlands where Misiones Province meets Paraguay, a landscape shaped by the Paraná Plateau's weathered topography and the warm, humid climate of northeastern…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKRío Pilcomayo National Park
Argentina
+271 birds+13 mammals
Where the Río Pilcomayo cuts through northeastern Argentina's subtropical lowlands, a sprawling mosaic of wetlands, grasslands, and seasonally flooded forests creates one of South America's most…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKIguazú National Park
Puerto Iguazú, Argentina
+346 birds+15 mammals
Where the Paraná Plateau plunges toward the Atlantic watershed, nearly 800 square kilometers of subtropical rainforest drape across Misiones Province in a landscape carved by millennia…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKChaco National Park
Municipio de Presidencia de la Plaza, Argentina
+258 birds+7 mammals
Across the humid subtropical lowlands of northeastern Argentina, where the Paraná River basin feeds vast seasonal wetlands and gallery forests, Chaco National Park protects one of…
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