Iapa had a few surprises for keepers
It’s cuteness overload at Wellington Zoo, after seven delightful bundles of joy were born yesterday morning.
Keepers were surprised to find seven newborn capybara pups in the habitat with first-time mum Iapa.
Wellington Zoo’s Ash Howell said the average litter size for capybara was three to four but it was possible to have a litter of up to eight.
‘‘We knew Iapa was pregnant but we were very surprised to see seven pups this morning . . . understandably she is pretty exhausted after her labour.’’
Given the babies were so new keepers would be keeping their distance, she said.
‘‘The herbivore team are remaining hands-off for the time being so we can let Iapa and her babies bond.’’
Keepers would be monitoring mum and babies closely.
‘‘We may lose a few of the infants, which isn’t unusual for such a large litter.’’
It’s too early to know the sex of the pups.
The semi-aquatic rodents, who can hold their breath underwater for five minutes, came to Wellington Zoo from Parc Zoologique de Paris at the beginning of 2016.
❚ Capybaras are mammals native to South America.
❚ They are the largest rodents in the world.
❚ They are closely related to guinea pigs.
❚ They inhabit savannas and dense forests and love to swim.
❚ Highly social animals, they can be found in groups as large as 100, but usually live in groups of 10 to 20.
Father Pepe was also doing well. ‘‘Pepe has been great so far and Vara, our other female, has shown interest in the babies too.’’
Howell said it was still too early to be thinking about names just yet, especially since knowledge of the sex would be ‘‘a while’’ away.
‘‘At this stage it is still very early days so we will continue to monitor the pups and keep our Wellington community up to date on our Facebook page with any changes.’’