Charismatic Capybara

About

The capybara is the world's largest living rodent. This semi-aquatic mammal comes from South America where it lives in dense forest near water. It can grow 134 cms long, 62 cms tall and weigh anywhere from 35 to 66 kgs and its nearest relative is the guinea pig.

The capybara is an herbivore that eats grass, fruit, tree bark and aquatic plants, but during the dry season its diet expands to include a greater variety of plants. It loves to socialise and gets around in groups of 10-20 but in the dry season it is known to be found in groups of as many as 50 to 100. It also mixes well with other animals.

We saw capybaras at the Auckland Zoo last year including a number of babies. Interestingly, the mother rejoins the group a few hours after delivering her babies, usually about four. And the babies also join the group quickly as within a week they are already eating grass.

Capybaras with babies at the Auckland Zoo

Curiosities

• The capybara can run as fast as a horse and is an excellent swimmer. It can stay fully submerged for up to five minutes.
• It is a gentle animal that makes a great pet, but more than one is recommended.
• Other birds and animals love to perch on top of it in order to get a free ride.
• It can live for up to 12 years in captivity.

Conservation

The capybara is not threatened but it is hunted in some regions in South America for its pelt and meat, and in some areas is farmed.

There are capybaras in many Australian zoos, including this one at the Tasmania Zoo at Riverside.

Dashing Dinosaurs

Anyone who knows me knows of my passion for animals, but this also includes the pre-historic kind.

My love of dinosaurs began in 2009 when I visited the Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackways at Winton in Queensland, and saw the actual footprints of animals that lived some 95 million years ago.

Of course dinosaur discoveries have occurred since the early 1800s, around the world. But recently, on Victoria's Gippsland coast, the fossilised remains of a new species of herbivore dinosaur have been uncovered. This wallaby-sized dinosaur, known as Galleonosaurus dorisae, is 125 million years old.

Interestingly, when this dinosaur was roaming the earth, Australia was still joined to Antarctica and a huge volcanic ridge connected us to New Zealand.

Scientists hope that this latest discovery will help them to understand how Australian dinosaurs fit into the dinosaur family around the planet.

And hopefully I will learn more about this and many other dinosaurs at The Royal Society of Tasmania's A Symposium: Dinosaurs and Evolution of Life this weekend!

Books for Animal Lovers

This post isn't about an animal, its about lots of different animals. And if you like reading about animals then this is for you - I highly recommend all four books.

The Travelling Vet by Jonathan Cranston is a collection of tales from a young vet who works in a vet practice in Oxfordshire, England but also travels the world treating everything from guinea pigs to giraffes. Its funny and its moving but there's always something different.

Our Zoo by June Mottershead follows the extraordinary journey of a young girl who, with her father George, set up the Chester Zoo in England in the 1930s. An inspiring story of determination.

The Last Rhinos by Lawrence Anthony, described as the Indiana Jones of conservation. Apart from his incredible, and often dangerous, attempts to try to save the northern white rhino, Anthony runs his own game reserve in South Africa and has saved hundreds of animals.

And for those who would rather just look at the pictures, then you just have to see The Photo Ark by Joel Sartore, whose goal is to photograph every animal on earth, before it becomes extinct. Wonderful book, full of beautiful photographs of animals you know and some you've never even heard of!

Tasmania's Turbines

I recently read about the Cattle Hill Wind Farm which is currently under construction in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. It will have 48 turbines and is due for completion later this year.

Reading about this piqued my curiosity about other wind farms in Tasmania, as the only one I have ever visited is at Woolnorth in the far north-west of the state. Bluff Point and Studland Bay Wind Farms is Tasmania's largest wind farm so far with 62 turbines, and it was commissioned in stages between 2002 and 2007.

I took these photographs at Woolnorth in 2016

Granville Harbour Wind Farm is on Tasmania's west coast, 25 kms north-west of Zeehan. It will have 31 turbines when it is completed, also later this year.

Musselroe Wind Farm in the far north-east of Tasmania has 56 turbines and was commissioned in 2013. King Island has the Huxley Hill Wind Farm with 3 turbines commissioned in 1998 and the Flinders Island Wind Farm has 2 turbines which were commissioned in 1988 and 1996.

And another island just off the north-west coast of Tasmania will host the Robbins Island Wind Farm. This isn't scheduled for commission until 2023 but it will have up to a whopping 300 turbines!

I have always been fascinated by wind farms and I don't mind the look of the turbines in areas where the landscape is remote and the views are generally spectacular.

The views from the Woolnorth turbines

So, I guess Tasmania is really pulling its weight when it comes to producing wind power.

Source: https://ramblingsdc.net/Australia/WindTas.html