Capybaras (Hydrochoerus spp.) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

Prehistoric distribution

• North America, Central America, West Indies, South America
• Historically, before livestock introduced: riparian regions throughout South and Central America

Current distribution

H. hydrochaeris

• Venezuela to NE Argentina
  
• Large, continuous distribution in South America
  

• Portions of Columbia, the Guianas, Suriname
• Paraguay and Uruguay
• Northeastern Argentina
• Amazonian Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
• Concentrations in:
  • Llanos of Venezuela
  • Pantanal wetlands of western Brazil
  • Taim lowlands of southern Brazil

H. isthmius

• Eastern Panama
• Northern coastal Colombia and Venezuela
• Much smaller geographic distribution than H. hydrochaeris
  

Lowlands, from open plains to tropical rain forests; always near water

• Swampy, marshy, grassy areas bordering rivers, ponds, streams, lakes
• Prefer nutrient-rich muddy rivers with aquatic grasses
• Need extensive meadows at low water times

Habitat specialists

• Use open water for drinking, wallowing, predator protection
• Use dry land for foraging, resting
• Grassy patches and brushy scrub both essential in extremes of dry and wet seasons

Ecology largely unknown until 1966

• Venezuelan government began studies in Llanos region

Capybara distribution.

Adapted from www-d.-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).

Herrera & Macdonald (1989)
Mones & Ojasti (1986)
Verdade &. Ferraz (2006)