My new best friend

July 26, 2010

Meet Charlie. He’s a capybara, the world’s largest rodent. Capybaras weigh about 100 pounds, have short, coarse hair and are semi-aquatic, earning them the nickname of “water pig.” (Coincidentally, that’s what the kids called me in elementary school.)

That said, Charlie is pretty damn cute — even if he could use a pedicure.

He lives at a lodge I visited in the Amazon jungle. His best friend is this dog, Pedro.

Guests at the lodge feed Charlie table scraps, like bread, bananas and potatos, all day long.

When he’s not sleeping, that is.

He quickly became my best friend — although I’m pretty sure that’s only because I had a pocket full of crackers.

Weird fact about capybaras: The Catholic Church decided that the capybara is a fish. So you can eat them during Lent, if that’s your thing.

 

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