In the wild, capybaras eat mostly grasses and aquatic plants, with some fruit and tree bark. They’re picky about it: according to the San Diego Zoo, 75% of a capybara’s diet comes from only three to six plant species, and an adult can eat 2.7 to 3.6 kg (6 to 8 pounds) of grass a day. They also eat their own droppings to get more out of that grass.
Here’s how the real diet works, how it changes through the year, and why the watermelons and ice cream in capybara games are pure fantasy.
What wild capybaras eat #
Capybaras are grazing herbivores from the wetlands and grasslands of South America. Their diet, day to day:
- Grasses. The bulk of what they eat, grazed along riverbanks and in flooded savannas.
- Aquatic plants. Water plants they can reach while wading or swimming.
- Fruit and bark. Occasional extras rather than staples.
They are selective feeders. Rather than eating whatever is green, they seek out a small number of preferred plants. That’s why the San Diego Zoo figure above is so striking: most of what a capybara eats comes from a handful of species.
How their diet changes in the dry season #
The wetlands where capybaras live swing between flooded and parched. When the rains come, preferred grasses are plentiful, and capybaras can afford to be choosy. In the dry season, those plants dry out and lose their nutritional value, so capybaras switch to reeds and other more abundant plants that they’d normally pass over.
The dry season also brings capybaras together. Groups that usually number around 10 to 20 can gather in groups of 50 to 100 around the remaining water, as Wikipedia’s capybara article summarizes.
Why capybaras eat their own droppings #
Grass is hard to digest. Its cell walls are made of cellulose, which mammals can’t break down alone, so capybaras rely on gut bacteria to ferment it. One pass through the gut doesn’t extract everything.
Their fix sounds gross but works well. Capybaras are coprophagous: they spend part of each morning re-eating the previous day’s food in the form of soft droppings, which gives them a second chance to absorb nutrients and restocks the gut bacteria that help them digest cellulose. Rabbits do something similar.
Teeth that never stop growing #
Like all rodents, capybaras have front teeth that grow throughout their lives. Tough, gritty grasses wear those teeth down as fast as they grow. That’s one reason a capybara’s natural diet matters: without enough coarse food to chew, their teeth can overgrow.
How big an eater is a capybara? #
Capybaras are the largest living rodents. Adults typically weigh 35 to 66 kg (77 to 145 pounds) and measure about 106 to 134 cm long. Keeping that much body running on grass means spending a large part of the day grazing, usually in the cooler parts of the day.
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Daily grass intake (adult) | 2.7 to 3.6 kg (6 to 8 lb) |
| Share of diet from a few favorite plants | About 75% from 3 to 6 species |
| Adult weight | Typically 35 to 66 kg |
| Typical group size | About 10 to 20, larger in the dry season |
Game snacks vs the real menu #
Capybara games love food, but almost none of it is capybara food.
- Capybara Rush has your capybara collecting oranges, bananas and ice cream. Ice cream is obviously a joke. Fruit is a treat at best.
- Chill Capy, a virtual pet from the same studio as this blog’s game, gets closer to reality. Its eight snacks come with trade-offs: watermelon is a treat, while a grass roll counts as a meal.
- Capybara Crossing skips food entirely. Your capybara collects coins while crossing roads and rivers, and spends them on new capybaras, including Orange Capy and a Chef Capy that starts each run with two bonus coins. Real capybaras have no use for coins, but they’d approve of the river lanes.
The citrus that appears around capybaras online is a separate story. Those are usually yuzu floating in a Japanese zoo’s winter bath, not a meal. We explain it in why capybaras have oranges on their heads.
What do capybaras eat in zoos? #
Zoos build capybara diets around grass and hay to match the fibrous food they’d eat in the wild, with produce as an extra rather than the main course. The popular videos of capybaras eating watermelon or pumpkin show treats, not a typical day. If you’re ever around a captive capybara, follow the keepers’ rules on feeding; sugary food in large amounts isn’t good for an animal built to digest grass.
Frequently asked questions #
Do capybaras eat meat or fish? #
No. Capybaras are herbivores. They eat grasses, aquatic plants, and occasionally fruit and bark, and their digestive system is built for fibrous plants.
How much does a capybara eat per day? #
An adult capybara can eat about 2.7 to 3.6 kg (6 to 8 pounds) of grass a day, according to the San Diego Zoo. That’s why they spend so much of the day grazing.
Why do capybaras eat their own poop? #
It helps them digest grass. Capybaras rely on gut bacteria to break down cellulose, and re-eating soft droppings in the morning gives them a second pass at the nutrients and restocks those bacteria.
Do capybaras eat oranges? #
Citrus isn’t part of a wild capybara’s diet. The famous orange-topped capybaras are usually sitting in yuzu baths at Japanese zoos, where the fruit is there for the bath, not as food. For more on how capybaras live alongside other animals, see whether capybaras get along with other animals.