The city of Nordelta in Argentina has been overrun with capybaras. Hundreds of the animals have taken up residence on lawns in wealthy neighborhoods, causing a lot of problems for local residents.
This is reported by The New York Times.
The capybara is the worldʼs largest rodent. When the residents of Nordelta were confined to their homes in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the capybaras took over and colonized the neighborhoods, finding green grass and fresh water. They were also attracted by the absence of predators. Over the past two years, the Nordelta capybara population has tripled to almost a thousand individuals.
A capybara eats grass on the side of a road running through the Nordelta.
So now in Nordelta you can find capybaras grazing near tennis courts, napping on volleyball courts and crossing the road in front of cars like full-fledged pedestrians. And although most residents think capybaras are cute, they cause traffic accidents, gnaw on garden plants and attack small domestic dogs.
A capybara swims in one of the artificial reservoirs of Nordelta. Capybaras take sand baths on a volleyball court.
"I believe that the charm of capybaras is a strategy of the species itself to survive. Their love has conquered us, and we are fighting for them," says Nordelta resident Silvia Soto.
But not all locals are happy about living in close proximity to capybaras. To stop the rodent population from growing, local authorities are trying to sterilize them. However, not all citizens agreed with this decision. Animal rights activists have collected 25,000 signatures against this method.
So the animals began to be given injections that temporarily suspended their ability to reproduce. If the therapy was stopped, the capybaras would be able to have offspring again.
Capybaras roam the Nordelta. They seem to be the masters of the city.
About 30 years ago, the area of what is now Nordelta was a swamp where capybaras lived freely alongside pumas, jaguars, and caimans. However, due to construction in the late 1990s, the predators left the area, but the capybaras remained.
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