To be a human being, you should be like a capybara...

Capybara, the new spiritual totem of contemporary young people.

This creature first came to attention because of its cuteness when it was soaking in a hot spring with an orange on its head:

Image source: youtube

Later, people discovered that they were surprisingly emotionally stable.

I was beaten by a monkey for no reason. It doesn’t matter. I just need to eat and drink.

Image source: GIPHY

Being used as a cushion by other animals, it doesn't matter, just relax yourself:

Image source: GIPHY

When a dolphin is alone, it is hard to tell whether it is sleeping or not:

Image credit: twitter.com/mikzkkaro

Calm and relaxed, no matter what absurd things happen, they can be like an old monk in meditation, "without changing their expression even when Mount Tai collapses in front of them" . The mental state of the capybara really makes the busy and internally exhausted netizens envious, shouting:

Love capybara, understand capybara, become a capybara.

Well... Capybaras are indeed cute, and their mental state is also desirable. So, how can we become a capybara?

First, you need to make yourself bigger, preferably a giant. Have you seen the Easter egg at the end of the movie "Investiture of the Gods"? Just grow up to the size of the four generals of the Demon Family.

Don't laugh, the size is an important asset for capybaras to relax mentally. They are the largest existing rodents . The maximum body length of an adult individual is over 1 meter, the average weight is about 50 kilograms, and the heaviest record is about 90 kilograms.

People often say that capybaras are "big rats", but this is not accurate. When we usually say "rats" and "mice", we are referring to the group of the suborder Murine of the order Rodentia, while capybaras belong to the suborder Porcupine of the order Rodentia, and strictly speaking, they cannot be considered rats.

In the South American wetlands where capybaras live, there are only a handful of large carnivores capable of preying on adult capybaras , such as anacondas and jaguars. Smaller caimans can prey on young capybaras, but they are unlikely to pose a threat to adult capybaras. Most of the capybaras' smaller rodent relatives are surrounded by natural enemies, so how can they afford to relax?

Image source: capybarafacts.com

In addition, the original English name of capybara is Capybara, which comes from the South American indigenous language ka'apiûara, which means "eater of fine grass". As a herbivore, capybara has no difficulty finding food in the lush South American wetlands, which reduces the pressure of foraging.

As mentioned above, capybaras are the largest rodents in existence, but if extinct species are included, they are not the largest. This story begins in the Eocene Epoch of the Cenozoic Era after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

At that time, the continents of South America and Africa had already separated, but were not too far apart. Some early rodents used the islands as a springboard to migrate from Africa to South America, a veritable new continent. After tens of millions of years of reproduction and development, they evolved into a large family. This evolutionary event is now known as the Main radiation events in Pan -Octodontoidea. This branch of rodents in South America occupies various ecological niches such as forests, mountains, grasslands, and wetlands. Today's tree porcupines, chinchillas, guinea pigs, and capybaras are all branches of this family.

In the Pliocene and Pleistocene of the Cenozoic Era, 4 million to 2 million years ago, there existed a giant guinea pig, Josephoartigasia monesi, in South America. Its Chinese translations include "Guofu Giant Pig" and "Joseph Giant Pig". According to skeletal fossils, the appearance of the "Guofu Giant Pig" is very similar to that of a capybara, except that its tail is slightly longer and its body is much larger, with a total length of about 3 meters, a shoulder height of 1.5 meters, and an estimated weight of 1 ton.

Josephoartigasia monesi. Image source: prehistoric-fauna.com

What is the emotional state of this giant capybara? It's hard to say. After all, size is only a necessary condition for the capybara's mental stability, but not a sufficient condition. Africa's buffaloes, hippos, rhinos, and elephants are larger and have fewer natural enemies, but their tempers are not at all docile. From this point of view, the capybara's naturally gentle character is indeed very desirable.

In fact, the good temper and relaxed state of capybaras are not absolute. They are relatively loose social animals . Although they live in groups, they divide their territory within the group during the breeding season. Male capybaras occasionally clash to compete for mates and bite their competitors with their well-developed incisors. Adult capybaras with their cubs will also become nervous when they encounter carnivores such as caimans to prepare for possible attacks.

Capybaras fighting. Image source: Bilibili

More importantly, capybara meat is not delicious, its fur is of average value , and it does not have long tusks and beautiful horns to attract people. Therefore, modern human hunting behavior does not pose much threat to capybara - it is somewhat like a useless tree, which is useless. To put it in a rounded way, it is simply the "Fat Zhuangzi" of South America .

Moreover, most of the photos and videos we can see on the Internet are taken of capybaras in artificial captivity in zoos and other places . Compared with their wild counterparts, they live in a safer environment and have more adequate food. Of course, their emotions are more stable and relaxed, and they have no hostility towards the outside world.

If we really want to apply the behavior and personality traits of animals to humans, the most important lesson that capybaras can bring us is probably not "be like capybaras", but how to create a stable environment so that people can live a relaxed life like capybaras. What do you think?

Planning and production

Author: Desert Porcupine Science Creator

Review｜Zeng Yan Senior Engineer, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Planning｜Yang Yaping

Editor: Yang Yaping