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Capybara Bathhouse
I'm Masao, assistant manager of Nagasaki Bio Park.
Capybara are the largest rodents in the world.
The largest of our herd weighs around 60 kilograms.
When capybara feel threatened, they dive into the water.
Their nostrils, eyes, and ears are all lined up horizontally.
This allows them to check for predators even while they're hiding in the water.
Capybara are herbivores, and docile by nature.
They're also very timid.
Ours were timid too, but as you can see, they're fine with humans now.
They enjoy being stroked and often fall asleep, purring.
Their fur starts to stand on end. They just love it.
That face says it all.
We built the open air bathhouse 5 years ago,
during the Year of the Rat in Japan. It was our gift to the herd.
Also, our pond is too cold for them in winter, as they're from
South America.
We noticed they had dandruff when we pet them.
We wanted to do something to remedy this.
That's how we came up with the bathhouse.