The Cape May County Zoo is excited to announce the birth of a pair of Capybara pups! Our breeding pair ‘Mikey’ and ‘Budette’ just had their second litter of Capybara pups since June. Born on February 3rd, ‘Budette’ is keeping her babies with her inside the Capybara building. The pups will stay with mom inside the Capybara building until we see more seasonable spring temperatures.
“But in the meantime, we will do our best to share photos of these new additions with everyone. Like us on Facebook to see the animals regularly posted. Currently, the pup’s gender is unknown, they are staying very close to mom,” according to Dr. Alex Ernst, Associate Veterinarian.
The capybara is the world’s largest living rodent growing to between 3.3 to 4.3 feet in body length and can weigh from 60 to 175 pounds. They mainly eat grasses, including aquatic vegetation, grains, melons, and squashes. Gestation lasts up to 120 days with an average of 3 pups and can be up to 7 born in the litter.
Capybaras are proficient swimmers and are known to swim underwater for considerable distances. Capybaras live in large groups of extended family members, with group size varying from 2 – 30 individuals with one dominate breeding male.
“Commissioner E. Marie Hayes, liaison to the Parks and Zoo said, “We have seen record crowds over the past year and are proud of the reputation our Zoo has earned We encourage visitors to come to the Zoo year-round, there is always something new and exciting happening, and the birth of new babies is always a big attraction.”
The Cape May County Zoo is open year-round and while you may not see these new Capybara babies right now, you can see almost all of our other animals who are viewable every day weather permitting. The Cape May County Park is open daily from 7 am until dusk; the Zoo in open daily from 10 am until 3:30 pm. For more information about the Parks and Zoo visit www.cmczoo.com
