The Year of the Rat is looking good for capybaras, at least in Japanese zoos.
That’s because Japanese zookeepers are banking on the rising appeal of the world’s largest rodents in the Year of the Rat and the fact that Japan will be hosting the Olympics this year.
The capybaras of Izu Shaboten Koen may not know it, but they’re the main attraction as can be seen in the video:
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Video credit: Rumble
“The capybaras are the highlight of our zoo, so we’re taking the Year of the Rat as an opportunity to push their popularity up even more,” said Masahiro Takeda, the deputy zookeeper of Izu Shaboten Koen.
“We’re really hoping that this will catch on with people from all over the world visiting Japan too.”
The capybaras are native to the jungles of South America but they have ironically helped improve the Izu Shaboten Koen’s popularity during the off-peak winter months.
Around 40 years ago, the tradition of giving capybaras daily baths during winter began. It started when a zoo attendant who was cleaning their pen with hot water discovered that the giant rodents huddled around in one of the warm puddles.
With over 3,000 hot-spring resorts, these baths soon became one of the main attractions at Izu Shaboten Koen and other Japanese zoos. From 126 capybaras in 2006, the number brew to 422 in 2016.
In fact, the popularity of the rodents has given birth to a popular plush toy called “Kapibarasan.” Online videos showing bathing capybaras have also attracted hundreds of thousands of views.
The capybaras at Izu Shaboten Koen weigh anywhere between 35 to 65 kilos (77 to 143 pounds). They eat apples and the leaves that their keepers dump into their hot bath and then drift off to sleep. Visitors can wear special mittens to pet and hand-feed the rodents when they’re awake.
Diners at the zoo’s restaurant can even treat themselves to a capybara-themed beef burger with a bun in the shape of the animal, complete with chocolate eyes and mouth.
While he doesn’t have the exact numbers, Takeda estimates that the zoo has seen a 20- to a 30-percent increase in visitors during winter ever since they started headlining the bathing capybaras.
Kayo Kogai, 23, one of the tourists, said, “I’d only ever seen the capybaras sit in hot springs on TV, so I really wanted to see it in person.”
“They look so relaxed … I would really like to join them in their bath,” Kogai’s friend Mizuki Aoki, 23, added with a laugh.
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