as a brazilian seeing capybaras and how they're portrayed online is so crazy
first bc they're like. fairly common here. they're always near rivers and they're one of the main animals you'll see in sao paulo aside from like, pigeons, cats and dogs
second bc brazil has insane regulations on keeping most wild animals as pets, so seeing capybara cafès and capybara pet influencers is crazy (also, they should have reasonably large bodies of water to swim in)
thirdly bc they get this online reputation of the chillest, coolest animals and they generally are but like. yeah no they can bite if they feel threatened and there are news stories of them killing ppl's dogs even. also they carry a shitload of ticks and if you see one in the wild in south america FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT TOUCH THEM they carry very very deadly diseases and you might only feel sick when you reach your home country where healthcare professionals will be way way less familiar w it!!!
that was your infodump psa 🫡
the idea that you can just walk outside and see a capybara is so wild to me like i always assumed they lived in the middle of the forest rather than being something you commonly see omg
ALSO THEY CAN KILL DOGS??
