Capybaras are rodents that come from South America and thrive in tropical weather. They are considered to be the world’s largest rodent, and can weigh as much as an adult male. Do not be deceived by their size however, as they are very friendly! They love interacting with humans and even other animals; they have been known to interact and be social with dogs, birds, ducks, and other animals. Capybaras are very social creatures, and they thrive in packs of between ten and forty capybaras. The best part about capybaras is that they are very cute, and like all cute animals, there are a lot of online videos about them. Every single capybara video out there is amazing, but there are a couple that stand out to just be the best.

Back in September of 2014, YouTube user Crazy Cody’s Creatures uploaded a video titled “Capybara eating an Ice Pop“. As the title suggests, it is a 1 minute video of a capybara consuming a red popsicle. This video is great because the feeding process of someone’s pet capybara is documented, and a great angle of the feeding is shown. Not only is this video educational, but it is also very entertaining! The capybara eating the popsicle is very entertaining on its own, but half of the popsicle breaking and falling to the ground 24 seconds in just makes it so much more enjoyable. However, a main criticism of this video is that the video ends before the capybara finishes eating the popsicle. Because of this minor setback, I would rate this video a 9/10, would watch again.

Two years later, in December 2016, the same YouTube user uploaded a video titled “Capybara eating half a watermelon Full Video“. The video starts out with a minute-long time lapse of the entire feeding, followed by the feeding in real time. For nearly half an hour, the viewer gets to enjoy the sight and sounds of a capybara consuming a massive watermelon. That watermelon looks delicious!!! However, looks can be deceiving. Assuming that the video was uploaded shortly after it was recorded, it can be inferred that the Capybara ate the watermelon in a winter month. The problem is that watermelon is a summer fruit, and tastes best in the summer. Because of this, we know that the watermelon that the capybara ate in the video does not taste very good, which personally bugs me a lot and makes me sad. Consequently, I would rate this video a 3/10 because it violates ethical considerations through giving a happy capybara a sad meal 😦

The last video I will analyze today is a video titled “Capybara with mandarin orange on head　みかんを頭にのせるカピバラ 伊豆シャボテン動物公園元祖カピバラ露天風呂　MAESTRO ZEN” from November 2018. It is a video of a group of capybaras swimming with oranges. This video is awesome because they decided to have the capybaras swim with a fruit that was buoyant, meaning that the oranges would not sink. If the oranges sank, then the capybaras would feel lonely and sad, since the fruit would likely drown. But since the oranges float, the capybaras are happy and content, which can be seen in their energetic swimming. Some would argue that they are swimming with a pretty poor tasting fruit. Although I personally would disagree, as oranges taste very good, it is evident that not a single orange is actually consumed by a capybara, so the orange-haters have no valid argument. Ending off on a high note, this video is a 10/10, and it is necessary for people to see this video some time in their life.