The friendly capybara

On the last December 3rd, I registered an interesting observation, which came to become the "iNat Observation of the Day" (observation 18808638), showing a Common Slider basking in the sun on the back of a Capybara. Reptiles need to warm up and, for this, usually climb trunks of trees, rocks or beaches, for example. The capybara did not appear to be bothered by the situation, for at one point it moved and the tortoise left its back, but about twenty minutes later, there it was again "riding" the capybara, which was still.

This interaction with the turtle may be surprising but the capybaras interact with other species in at least two other situations.
Capybara are known to be tick-borne and, although their coat is thick, apparently they feel bothered by them.
Thus, capybaras allow birds to collect ticks, staying still and even positioning themselves in a way to facilitate collection. Cattle Tyrant, Southern Caracara, Yellow-headed Caracara and Black Vulture were observed collecting ticks on capybaras.
Another type of interaction does not involve ticks. During feeding, the capybaras, as well as the cattle, pull the grass, revolving the soil and exposing worms, which attracts birds to eat them, especially the Cattle Egret and the Cattle Tyrant (that is why they have this popular name).
To access the observations, "explore" filtering for the person's name "nelson_wisnik" and the Description/tags "capy_tick". You are welcome.

Posted on February 2, 2019 10:01 AM by nelson_wisnik