It’s no secret that wild hogs are hardly the only invasive, non-native species making new homes on US soil.  The list of flora and fauna is pretty extensive, although most of the invaders are pretty much invisible to the non-scientific eye.  But in today’s news there’s a new one popping up… the capybara! 

Unless you’re a Scrabble player or a Jeopardy fan, you may not have ever heard of the capybara.  This South American native is the world’s largest rodent (a questionable claim to fame), and resembles nothing so much as a giant guinea pig.  They are, fortunately, gentle herbivores, so they don’t present a particular threat to humans.  Also fortunate is the fact that, so far, there’s really only confirmed evidence of one of the creatures in the area.  It’s more likely an escaped pet, and all reports suggest that these mammals do not reproduce asexually, so this probably doesn’t really represent an invasion at all (I just enjoy hyperbole… hell, I even like saying, hyperbole!). 

I also like saying, “capybara.”

Try it!

And no, as of yet I have no idea what they taste like.  However, should this sighting in Paso Robles turn out to be the tip of a furry iceberg, I’ll find out.

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