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In this episode, best-selling author Katherine Rundell brings us the capybara - the world’s largest rodent and one of its most unexpectedly charming. Native to South America, capybaras are semi-aquatic animals with eyes and nostrils set high on their heads, allowing them to spend long hours submerged in water to escape the heat. They’re strong swimmers, surprisingly adaptable, and in at least one case, even trainable: a blind farmer in Suriname once taught a rescued capybara to act as his guide. Capybaras exist in two species. The greater capybara is thriving. In Argentina’s gated community of Nordelta, they’ve returned in large numbers, roaming lawns and tennis courts in what some see as justice for the wetlands that were destroyed to build the development. But not all capybaras are so fortunate. The lesser capybara is threatened by deforestation, polluted water, and hunting, and is listed as Data Deficient. Written and presented by Katherine Rundell Produced for ��ѿ��ý Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan