this post was submitted on 12 May 2024
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It has always amused me that the tourists to the US that I’ve spoken to are often very excited to see raccoons, and disappointed if they don’t see them before they leave.

Some others I’ve noticed on the east coast of the US are blue jays and cardinals. Boy, do people get excited about those if they’ve never seen them before! Very pretty birds of course, just very easy to get used to and see as uninteresting as well.

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[–] [email protected] 80 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (5 children)

Capybaras are pretty common in the area where I live, and really throughout most of Brazil. Don't get me wrong, we still think they're pretty cute, but I've seen some Americans get really excited about them.

Oh, and the maned wolf. To be fair, I think they're pretty neat too.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Are capybaras as chill as their reputation suggests, or is that more a feature of cases that are used to captivity? If the memes/images/videos are to be believed, I'd expect to be able to just wander up to one in the wild and have it respond like a well-socialized pet dog.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I’ve hung out with capybaras and can fully verify that they’re chill as fuck. They’re more skittish than a quokka, but as long as you’re chill, the capybara is!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Quokkas win as far as cutest and chillest animals to bless this planet. Quokkas should be everyone’s spirit animal.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Fun fact. When in danger, Quokka parents drop their little quokka babies from their pouch as a distraction so the parents can get away.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I've only ever heard of one incident with a capybara, when it killed my SO's therapist's dog, but it was supposedly protecting it's cubs, so I would say as chill as a mammal can be

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It is a fox with some long long legs! Neat!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

A fox horse! A forse!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I went to the Buenos Aires zoo and Iguaçu and that capybaras can just roam freely in the zoo is amazing. And in Iguaçu (or Iguazu), coatis were fun. They’re devious.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I lived in the northeast for a few years in and around college and I was amazed by chipmunks. I had never seen one and was like, “Holy shit, a chipmunk!”

I’ve been to the Galapagos, Australia, multiple African countries and nothing shocked me like seeing a chipmunk for the first time. Nature shows let you know exotic animals exist but there’s no nature show that’s just like, “Check out this [chipmunk, hedgehog, etc.].”

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

Seeing a chipmunk was the same for me. And goddamn are they cute, I had no idea they were so small and precious. Alvin and the chipmunks are monstrosities by comparison.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

I would be SO EXCITED to see a wild capybara.

That maned wolf is really cool! I thought they were extinct but I must have them mixed up with some other canine creature. Something with stripes?

It looks like a long-legged megafox.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (2 children)

You're probably thinking of the thylacine

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Fingers crossed that it isn't actually extinct. Unconfirmed sightings have been going up recently. My head canon is that a government agency is covering it up so they can bounce back without tourist destroying the ecosystem just to see "the last one".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Ah, thank you! Yes, the Tasmanian wolf.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Thylacine? aka Tasmanian Tiger.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Yep, I was going to say capybaras but also anacondas, although they are hard to spot, but I recall there's one in Butantan Institute, in São Paulo city.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

That's clearly the abandoned love child of a fox and a wnba player.