Fear not, it’s CAPYBARA!
January 30, 2023
(GASPS) Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a furry coconut dog thing!
Fear not, it’s CAPYBARA! Here to save the day by… you know what, this isn’t working, I’m running out of ideas for jokes.
Okay, so the capybara isn’t a superhero. But what is a capybara, and why does it show up on my social media feeds every day?
Allow me to explain. The capybara is a rodent native to South America. At first glance, a capybara might look a bit like guinea pigs, but with more of a brownish color and a larger size. They are very good swimmers and on top of that, can sleep on water for up to five minutes at a time.
Today, the capybara has exploded in meme culture, and there are multiple accounts across social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram that only post content related to capybaras, which tend to focus on their humorous qualities. Look up pictures of them on Google and you’ll be sure to find them carrying many small animals on their backs.
“I feel like with capybaras, they just symbolize the central meaning of what life’s goals are. Like they kinda just live, exist, seemingly without a care in the world. The soft appearance of a capybara also helps that fact. Even if they’re a rodent you wouldn’t necessarily label it as one right off the bat. They just look so peaceful and unbothered. Rodents in contrast are hunting for the next big meal or scavenging in NYC public transit but with capybaras, they’re simply living in hot tubs filled with oranges,” said the artist behind the featured capybara artwork, Delanie Pon.
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Websites dedicated to pictures of the big critter have existed since the early 2010’s, but it took about a decade or so before others began to pay attention. In 2020, a YouTube video of a capybara in the passenger seat of its now former owner’s car resurfaced after its original upload in 2014. Said clip would be edited numerous times with the song “After Party” by rapper Don Toliver, which had been released earlier that year. The song begins with the lyric “Okay I pull up,” made even funnier by the fact that the clip has no real context to it aside from the rodent noticing its surroundings. The use of the song spread over the rest of the year and throughout 2021, being used in other capybara-related memes, and at this point, it’s likely the song will forever be associated with these furry animals that are definitely not planning world domination.
Capybaras can be found all over the world, where they are just as popular, if not more, than they are in the United States. In Japan, the Nagasaki Bio Park features capybaras as part of its exhibits, where they take a bath in open air during the winter months, and in Argentina, they made headlines for their invasion of Nordelta, a wealthy gated community, committing garden destruction and biting dogs. Talk about showing who’s boss!
All in all, you can count on capybaras to always live their best life! Nobody will admit it, but we’re all jealous.
For readers who are interested in seeing these adorable creatures in person, you can visit capybaras at the Southwick Zoo in Mendon.
