Some Capybaras Lose The Will To Live

Capybaras are very sensitive and emotional animals and they do not cope well with stress. Capybaras have very high emotional intelligence.

A life in captivity can be very stressful for a capybara. Captivity refers to living in a zoo or as a pet.

Captivity usually provides a completely unnatural way of life and habitat for a capybara. Because Capybaras do not react well to stress, many capybaras in captivity die prematurely because they lose the will to live due to the circumstances of their lives in captivity.

I know of at least three capybaras who died because they lost the will to live: Duro, Ryoko, Zabon.

Duro

Duro lived as a pet capybara with Eros. When Eros passed away Duro lost his one and only friend. Six months after Eros died a new pet moved into Duro’s home. The arrival of a new pet is often the trigger for an established pet animal to give up the will to live and pass away.

By this time Duro was completely blind. He lost one eye in a mystery accident when he was born. When he was about 6 years old he developed a cataract in his good eye and gradually went blind. The sight in this eye could have been restored as cataracts are routinely removed by vets. A lion in India, living in the wild, was acting strangely. An investigation revealed that the lion had cataracts on both his eyes and had gone blind. The vet in India was able to remove both cataracts. As part of the procedure, the animal has to be given antibiotics following the operation to remove a cataract so that the eye does not become infected. With humans, the antibiotic is given as eyedrops, but with an animal it is more likely that the antibiotic will have to be given as an injection. This is because with some animals it is difficult to administer eyedrops.

Duro’s eye was not operated on so he was now completely blind. While Eros was alive he had Eros to rely on. Eros was his friend, his only friend. Unlike Eros, he had not bonded with humans. Duro understood that he had little in common with humans and much more in common with Eros.

When Eros passed away Duro lost his one and only friend. Marc and I had always been very close to Duro but because of the pandemic we had not been able to visit him for almost 2 years. Tragically, we had no idea that Duro was suffering and going downhill. Had we known we would have gone to Henderson to be with Duro that summer, before he passed away at the beginning of September. We had had our vaccines so it would have been safe for us to travel. Duro had always been a very healthy capybara and I was expecting him to live for, at the very least, another 3 years. We were planning to visit him that Autumn. Had we known of Duro’s condition we would have rushed to be with him.

A rodentologist friend suggested that the arrival of the new pet might have been the reason Duro lost the will to live. When I finally met this new pet three years later I understood immediately that this pet was the reason Duro had lost the will to live. The pet was a hyperactive Yorkshire terrier who continually barked and growled. He also frequently nipped Duro. Perhaps even worse, the family seemed to absolutely adore this obnoxious dog and gave him so much love, affection and attention, which they had never given to Eros and Duro. It was heartbreaking to experience.

Duro had always been closer to the wife and every night Duro slept on her bed. However, with the arrival of the dog Duro’s place in the wife’s heart was gone. The dog spent every night on the wife’s bed. It was the wife who acquired the dog and the dog usurped Duro’s place in her life.

I shall always believe that if we had been with Duro after the arrival of the dog, he might well still be alive today. I have seen videos of Duro and the dog interacting and it was obvious that Duro was not happy or comfortable in the presence of the dog.

Put yourself in Duro’s place. Can you imagine being blind and having your life invaded by a hyperactive animal who bit you, and constantly barked and growled and rushed around. Being blind Duro would have felt completely lost. He would have sensed all the love and attention this pet was being given. He would have grown very depressed with nothing left to live for.

Duro had always been such a courageous, confident, optimistic, healthy capybara. He overcame his very painful birth which resulted in significant injuries and the loss of his right eye, to become one of the largest and healthiest capybaras I have known.

Ryoko

We were the only people who Ryoko sat on the laps of. I think we were the only humans she trusted, which was why my inability to make her life better was so devastating for her and heartbreaking for me.

Ryoko was a highly intelligent capybara who completely mistrusted the keepers. She was Hinase’s daughter and was expected to succeed her mother as leader of the herd. However, she suffered a partial miscarriage and her babies were delivered by cesarean (C section). She did not eat for two weeks following the operation and when she was allowed back into the herd, having been separated with her only surviving pup after giving birth, she was attacked by several capybaras who took advantage of her very weakened state.

Ryoko had suffered a partial miscarriage when she was frightened by one of the keepers when she was heavily pregnant. She ran as fast as she could to the pond in search of safety. She sat down by the pond and her body heaved massively three times. I said to Marc that I was very worried about Ryoko. I was very concerned about what state I would find her when we arrived the next morning.

As Ryoko could no longer live as part of the herd she was kept in a separate enclosure adjacent to the main capybara enclosure. Here she could entertain herself by attracting Donut’s attention and he would rush over and try to fight her. I have shown this in the following video, with a description:

Capybara Behaviour Is SO Fascinating. How a Capybara Copes with Separation. Ryoko Lures Donut To …

Capybara Behaviour Is SO Fascinating. How A Capybara Copes with Separation. Ryoko Lures Donut Over To Entertain Her and Relieve the Boredom of Separation. Ryoko had to be separated from the herd for her own protection after the tragedy surrounding the birth of her pups. She suffered a partial miscarriage and her pups were delivered by cesarean (C-section). After this she did not eat for a week and became very weak. When she was released back into the main herd she was attacked by several of the capybaras who wanted her place in the hierarchy so she had to be separated again. Ryoko is a very tough minded capybara and deals with the stress of being separated by lowering Donut over to engage with her and relieve the boredom she now experiences by being separated. Donut is always aggressive to any capybara who is in a separate enclosure. Ryoko plays on this and attracts his attention by jumping in her little pond making a huge splash, and by running round and round her enclosure and by barking. Sure enough, this always gets a reaction from Donut who comes running over. You can hear him tooth chattering as he tries to fight with Ryoko through the fence which separates them. Sometimes Ryoko walks very slowly, tantalisingly close to him, watching him as he gets more and more worked up. Ryoko is a highly intelligent capybara and was expected to succeed her mother, Hinase, as leader of the herd.

However, one day when Ko, another neutered male capybara in the herd, was trying to fight with Ryoko through the bars of the fence which separated them, a stupid visitor tried to intervene. There was never any danger of Ryoko or Ko being injured by their aggression towards each other through the bars of the fence, so it was an incredibly stupid act of interference. Not surprisingly the man got bitten accidentally by Ko when the stupid man tried to intervene. Completely unacceptably the Biopark decided to move Ryoko to another enclosure out of sight of the herd. Ko was also removed from the herd and put in a separate enclosure behind the zoo where he died prematurely from the stress of living alone. (Ko, like his father Kona, was very responsive to petting and would have become very depressed having no interactions with the rest of the herd or with humans).

The final straw for Ryoko was being taken away as part of the travelling zoo. This is a very stressful, frightening experience which no capybara should have to endure, as I have told the Biopark many times.

I am afraid I may also have contributed to Ryoko losing the will to live. Prior to the pandemic I used to spend time with Ryoko every day, petting her through, or over, the bars of her fence. We could not be with her for three years because of the pandemic. When Japan finally reopened to foreigners we immediately returned to the Bio Park in mid October 2022. I asked after Ryoko. I was told she came down to be fed near the capybara enclosure in the evenings. A few days later this happened and I was able to see Ryoko again. I called to her several times. She knew exactly who I was but she did not come over. I was shocked at her appearance and condition. She was a shadow of her former self and looked very depressed and stressed. Three weeks after we arrived and three days after being taken away as part of the travelling zoo, Ryoko died. The vet carried out a post-mortem but could find no cause for her death. He said she had lost the will to live and we both agreed that being taken away as part of the travelling zoo would have been very stressful for her. The vet considered this was the final straw which had caused her to give up the will to live.

I feel certain that my arrival back in Japan and the fact that I was not able to improve her situation, made her realise she had nothing left to live for.

On her last few days before she passed away Hinase, Ryoko’s mother, tried very hard, despite her very weak condition, to climb the mossy hill which led up to the enclosure where Ryoko had been kept. I am certain Hinase wanted to be with her daughter in the last few days of her life. Other capybara mothers are comforted and supported by their daughters in the weeks leading up to their deaths.

Zabon

Zabon’s premature death was unforgivable and could easily have been prevented. When Zabon was chosen to breed in the winter of 2016/2017 I was surprised the Bio Park had chosen her because she was not the healthiest of the female capybaras. She was a little thin and the condition of her coat was not as good as the other capybaras. That year she did not get pregnant.

The following year she successfully became pregnant but her condition, after giving birth, deteriorated and gave cause for great concern. She lost a lot of weight and was just skin and bone. She had also lost a lot of hair. However, valiant mother that she was, she tried very hard to do her best for her two babies, Madoka and Ko. She tried to be an excellent mother despite being very weak.

You can see how thin Zabon has become following the birth of her pups Ko and Madoka

I was therefore shocked to discover that Zabon had been chosen to breed for a second time the following year. This was a very cruel decision given what happened to Zabon on the previous occasion when she became pregnant and gave birth. In addition, she was suffering from a very painful, swollen foot but she could not be given antibiotics to treat this because she was pregnant. She frequently hopped around on three legs and I was deeply, deeply concerned about her, and the effect on her babies, when she was heavilypregnant, of this rough, heaving motion as she hopped. She also had great difficulty getting in and out of the pond. I was concerned that this “hopping motion” might result in her suffering a miscarriage. The time was August when the temperature sometimes rises as high as 40°C, so it was essential for Zabon to go into the pond to thermoregulate and keep her body temperature stable.

Zabon gave birth to three healthy pups in mid-September. I was horrified to see the chief capybara keeper interfering with the pups immediately after they had been born. These interventions destroy the bond between mother and baby and would never be tolerated in a good zoo. In good zoos the keepers will not even intervene for at least 24 hours or more, if at all possible, when there appears to be a problem with the newborn baby or if the mother is showing no interest in her newborn and not feeding her, in the hopes that the problem will resolve itself without interference from the keepers.

I was even more horrified to see other people, including the general manager, going into Zabon’s enclosure and petting and filming her babies within a few hours of their birth.

The chief capybara keeper continued to interact with, and interfere with the pups, carrying out the role of a mother capybara and performing the behaviours a mother capybara would normally provide, like licking the baby’s bottom is to stimulate him to defecate. The chief capybara keeper endlessly called to Zabon, to do this or that, in a cold, unpleasant, screechy voice. It was obvious that this was causing Zabon great stress. When the chief capybara keeper tried to get Zabon to go back into the enclosure Zabon was very reluctant to move. However, when the other two capybara keepers ushered Zabon back into her enclosure at the end of the day she willingly complied.

I was heartbroken, but not surprised, to discover that Zabon had passed away just two months after giving birth. Her death was caused by the chief capybara keeper and the chief animal keeper. Caused by their decision to breed Zabon for a second year when she had suffered so much the previous year. They should have chosen Aoba to breed. Aoba was the natural choice for any Western zoo. She was a large, friendly capybara and she would have inherited her mother, Momiji’s, excellent parenting skills. She would also have carried on the best bloodline at Nagasaki Bio Park, descending from Donguri, through her daughter Momiji. Aoba was not chosen to breed to spite me and punish me for raising Animal Welfare issues.

Nagasaki Bio Park has not had any baby capybaras for almost 5 years due to their lack of understanding and knowledge of capybara reproduction.

The Critical Period For Baby Capybaras

For most mammals, including capybaras, there is a critical period which usually lasts for about 4 weeks when the animal is between 2 – 8 weeks of age. This is the time period when you can introduce the capybara to situations and encounters which he would normally find threatening or frightening. During this “critical period” the baby capybara will accept these situations, and if he trusts you, will continue not to be afraid in these situations for the rest of his life.

If the capybara is not introduced to potentially frightening situations during this “critical period” than he will become very stressed and frightened if he encounters these situations when he is older. These situations may include going out in a vehicle, being taken to public places like schools, restaurants and shopping malls, or being in the presence of large or barking dogs.

If the capybara finds a new situation rewarding and enjoyable, this will overcome his initial fear and he will come to accept them.

Romeo had accompanied Marvin and Elizabeth every time they went out in a vehicle and visited public places since he was a baby, and he loved humans. When we took him to the park he never wanted to leave until he had met everyone in the park and they had had a chance to love him and pet him.

By contrast, the first pet capybara I met was a rescue capybara who had never left his previous “owner’s” home during the critical period. His new “owner” had become famous through her previous capybara who she took on school visits and to other public places. She wanted her new capybara to do the same, but he was absolutely terrified of leaving his home territory or going out in the car. As he trusted me – I was probably the only person this capybara had ever met who truly loved him – his “owner” wanted me to accompany them on these terrifying expeditions. It was heartbreaking being with him and seeing how frightened and stressed he was in these unfamiliar places which to him represented danger.

The moral of this piece is that if you love an animal and care about his emotional well-being you will never force him to do anything he finds frightening and stressful. If you want your capybara to be an “out and about” capybara you have to introduce him to these terrifying situations during the “critical period”.

栄養を通して老人動物動物の福祉をサポートします

栄養を通して老人動物動物の福祉をサポートします

老化した動物は、飼い主で寿命の70％に達すると、食事に意味のある変化が必要です。

タンパク質、ビタミン、オメガ– 3脂肪酸は、高齢の野生動物の福祉と生活の質を改善することができます。

ドーナツはとても薄い

消化器系の変化により、栄養素の吸収に効率が低下します。

脳の変化は精神的な視力を減らします。 炎症は、体、特に関節全体に蓄積されます。

これらの変化のいくつかは、動物が飼育下で寿命の70％に達したときに、食事の意味のある変化によって防止または遅延される場合があります。

老化した野生動物は、キーパーには見えない多くの生理学的変化を受けます。

最終的には、福祉と生活の質に影響を与える症状が観察されます。

ドーナツは去年の夏に食べるのに十分ではありませんでした。 彼は薄くなっていた。

干し草はあまり栄養価がありません。 草は干し草よりもはるかに栄養価が高い。 高齢の動物にはもっと栄養が必要です。 干し草ではありません。

動物福祉は日本ではよく理解されていません。 ジャザはこれを認めています。

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-30659-4_7

抽象的な

老化した野生動物は、キーパーには見えない多くの生理学的変化を受けます。 消化器系の変化により、栄養素の吸収に効率が低下し、脳の変化が精神的視力を低下させ、炎症が体全体、特に関節全体に蓄積されます。 最終的には、筋肉の喪失、活動の減少、反応時間の長さなど、最終的に症状が観察され、それにより福祉に影響を与え、最終的には生活の質に影響します。 これらの変化のいくつかは、動物が捕虜の寿命の70％に達したときに、食事の意味のある変化によって防止または遅延することがあります。 タンパク質、ビタミン、オメガ-3脂肪酸は、老人野生動物の福祉と生活の質の維持と改善において高い可能性を示しています。

キーワード

腸関数

骨量

ダイエットサプリメント

脳機能

変形性関節症

プレバイオティクス

ヒナーゼ

Supporting Geriatric Zoo Animal Welfare Through Nutrition

Ageing animals, when they reach 70% of their lifespan in captivity, require meaningful changes to their diet.

Protein, Vitamins and Omega–3 fatty acids can improve the welfare and quality of life of older wild animals.

Changes in digestive system render them less efficient at absorbing nutrients.

Changes in brain reduce mental acuity. Inflammation builds up throughout body, especially joints.

Some of these changes may be prevented or delayed by meaningful changes to the diet when an animal reaches 70% of their lifespan in captivity.

Ageing wild animals undergo many physiological changes that are not visible to the keepers.

Eventually symptoms will be observed which impact their welfare and their quality of life.

Donut was not getting enough to eat last summer. He was becoming thinner.

Hay is not very nutritious. Grass is much more nutritious than hay. Older animals need more nutrition. Not Hay.

Animal Welfare is not well understood in Japan. JAZA acknowledges this.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-30659-4_7

Abstract

Aging wild animals undergo many physiological changes that are not visible to their keepers. Changes in their digestive system render them less efficient at absorbing nutrients, changes in their brain reduce mental acuity and inflammation builds up throughout the body, especially the joints. Eventually symptoms will be observed such as muscle loss, decreased activity and longer reaction times, thereby impacting their welfare and eventually their quality of life. Some of these changes may be prevented or delayed by meaningful changes to the diet when an animal reaches 70% of their life span in captivity. Protein, vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids have shown high potential in the maintenance and improvement of the welfare and quality of life of geriatric wild animals.

Keywords

Gut function

Bone mass

Dietary supplements

Brain function

Osteoarthritis

Prebiotics

What Animals Think and Feel

For most of the last two thousand years, Western thinkers rejected the idea that animals have the capacity for emotions. Not Charles Darwin, who understood that animals have emotions. In his book “The Expression of the Emotions In Man and Animals” published in 1872, he argued that animals experience emotions similar to those of humans thanks to a shared evolutionary history. Darwin believed this inheritance of emotions was shared by all mammal species. An example Darwin cites is: “Take fear: with all or almost all animals, terror causes the body to tremble”

Some emotions may be felt more strongly in some species than in other species. There may be some emotions which some species feel which humans do not feel. Some emotions and some animal experiences may be more profound in some species but not others. For example, an animal who lives as part of a herd or group, like a capybara or sheep, could find living in isolation terrifying and extremely stressful. Most humans may not be able to understand or imagine the degree of fear and stress that isolation would create in these species.

Blood markers for anaemia can be used to indicate chronic stress. Signs of overall physical, emotional and mental health, such as appetite and immune health could shed light on how contented an animal is.

You Can Read a Capybara’s Emotions in Their Eyes

People who know about capybaras typically look at things like the expression in a capybara’s eyes, posture, behaviour, ear position and how curious and attentive the capybara is to his environment when evaluating the emotional health of a capybara.

You can see by the look in Donguri’s eyes that she is feeling very depressed. She had injured her leg and could barely walk. She was in great pain.

A useful scientific way to measure the emotional state of an animal is to measure the animal’s brainwaves using electroencephalography , EEG. Different types of brainwaves can indicate whether an animal is depressed or contented. To measure a horse’s brainwaves, 5 electrodes were attached to a headset which was placed on the horse’s forehead for 10 minutes.

Researchers believe that the different brainwaves can be used to assess an animal’s mood. Some types of brainwave indicate depression. Using EEG scientists have discovered that in humans, theta waves reflect calmness and well-being, whereas gamma waves, the fastest of all brainwaves, are associated with anxiety and stress. Theta waves move slowly and have high amplitude. When EEG was used on horses researchers discovered that horses who were able to roam freely, living with their herd outdoors in a field and who were able to graze at will, had more slow theta waves than horses who spent their time alone in a stall, restrained. Horses who lived alone in stalls with little contact with other horses had more gamma brainwaves indicating, perhaps not surprisingly, that the horses were feeling stressed and anxious.

I am certain the same would apply to capybaras. Capybaras who are separated from their herd experience great stress and may even lose the will to live. Every capybara I know of who was separated from the herd and lived alone, died prematurely. The capybaras at Nagasaki Bio Park have no access to grass. Being able to graze at will is an essential part of a capybara’s life in the wild and an essential part of a capybara’s diet. Grass is vital for the well-being of every capybara in captivity.

Many other emotions may also be shared between humans and other animals. Experiments have already shown that the stress of living in captivity can cause depression. Boredom is another stressor which animals in captivity experience negatively.

Scientists reasoned that a depressed animal would lose interest in his surroundings, whereas an animal who was bored might be drawn to both negative and positive stimuli, just to get relief from the boredom and monotony they were experiencing by living alone. So even negative stimuli would be sought out simply to relieve the stress of boredom. This is exactly the behaviour I observed with Ryoko when she was separated from the herd.

When Ryoko was first separated from the herd, she was put in an enclosure adjacent to the capybara enclosure. This meant she could still see and interact with the other capybaras in her herd through the fence which separated them. Life became very boring for Ryoko after she was separated so any stimuli were sought, even negative stimuli. Donut and Ko would try to fight with Ryoko through the bars of the fence separating them. Donut was always aggressive to any capybara who had been separated. I presume this was because his primary goal was to protect his herd, i.e. those capybaras living with him in their enclosure. Donut was the highest ranking capybara in the herd and every day he would patrol the boundaries of his herd’s enclosure.

Every day Ryoko would attract Donut’s attention by running around her enclosure very fast or jumping into her tiny pool with a great splash or barking. This ensured that Donut would come running. Watching him and interacting with him relieved the stress and boredom of Ryoko’s solitary life. Sometimes Ryoko would move very slowly, tantalisingly close to Donut, right in front of him, as if she was taunting him by being so close to him but knowing he would not be able to attack her because of the fence which separated them.

You can see this in the following video:

Capybara Behaviour Is SO Fascinating. How a Capybara Copes with Separation. Ryoko Lures Donut To …

However, following some stupid behaviour by a visitor who tried to interfere in Ko ‘s aggression towards Ryoko and was bitten, Ryoko was put in an enclosure away from the herd. (The aggression was never a problem because of the fence which separated the two capybaras.) Having no contact with her herd Ryoko became very depressed and eventually lost the will to live. Ryoko had been destined to succeed her mother, Hinase, as the highest ranking female in their herd. She was the largest capybara in the herd and one of the two most intelligent, along with Choco. She was a very fit, strong capybara and it was heartbreaking that due to the actions of humans she died prematurely.

A group of male minks also exhibited this behaviour out of boredom. In addition to seeking out pleasant experiences like the smell of female faeces which they find especially attractive during the mating season, the minks also sought out neutral experiences like plastic bottles and even threatening experiences like the big leather gauntlets farmers use to catch minks.

Using AI to scan videos of mouse faces, researchers have identified a number of emotions including pleasure, disgust and fear. These emotions could be identified by the way a mouse tilted his ears or by the colour of the mouse’s nose.

In the wild, adult horses rarely play. When horses in captivity play this may not be a good sign. It may be that the horses are bored with their restricted lives. Horses who have been restrained and are then released, will play to dissipate the stress of being restrained which they had experienced.

To release stress capybaras may playfully roll in their pool or pond, or swim slowly in a relaxed manner or roll in mud. For example, when Syrup became very aggressive and attacked Whip, who is a peaceloving, gentle capybara who avoids fighting, Whip became very stressed. He rolled much more frequently than in the past and seemed to find this behaviour liberating and relaxing. Prune also began rolling much more frequently after Syrup attacked him. They both sought out mud whenever there was rain as this appeared to increase rolling as a positive stimuli.

Relieving an animal’s boredom by enriching their world with companionship or play can overcome feelings of negativity.

Ferrets housed in cages were given extra playtime on some days but not on others. On the days when the ferrets got no extra playtime they became more restless, cried and shrieked more, slept less and lay awake with their eyes open. Playtime reduced the ferrets need for stimulus seeking behaviour.

Restless behaviour indicates stress and boredom.

In the last months of Hinase’s life she became very restless, constantly moving around despite her growing weakness. I believe this restlessness indicated her stress at being separated from her daughter, Ryoko, and at her growing weakness. In the last four days of her life Hinase made repeated attempts to climb a moss covered hill at the edge of her enclosure. This area was the closest she could get to the pen where her daughter Ryoko was confined (see above for more about Ryoko’s separation). It was heartbreaking watching Hinase’s brave attempts to climb that hill, putting in a huge amount of effort to jump up the rocks, but unfortunately her feet failed to grip the mossy surface of the rocks when she landed and she slid back down.

Capybara daughters stay with their mothers in the last weeks of their mothers’ life, giving them emotional support and companionship. Momiji stayed beside her mother, Donguri, and Aoba stayed beside her mother, Momiji, in the last weeks of their mothers’ lives. Hinase’s desperate attempts to climb that hill to be with her daughter show how important it was for her to have her daughter by her side in the last days of her life as she grew weaker and weaker. Hinase had been the leader of the herd at Nagasaki Bio Park.

Picking a mouse up by his tail casts a shadow over that mouse’s entire day.

When we talk about the welfare of animals we need to study the animal’s overall emotional state. I.e. whether the animal’s chronic state is one of feeling more positive emotions or more negative emotions. This is not about how an animal may feel temporarily at any given time, but the overall emotional state which that animal exhibits consistently, over time, which is important. Overall, does this animal seem positive or negative about life.

You can see how stressful Kona’s life was in this video:

Please Pet Kona Capybara

Kona, the breeding male at Nagasaki Bio Park, suffered chronic stress and eventually lost interest in mating. Kona would stand at the gate to his enclosure repeatedly biting the bars of the gate (a stress behaviour known as a Stereotypie), looking forlornly out in the direction of the herd, desperate for their company. Kona had been bred at Nasu Animal Kingdom to be friendly to humans and super responsive to petting. He then went to live in a petting zoo in Osaka where he experienced a great deal of petting all day every day. However, when he came to Nagasaki Bio Park the keepers refused to pet him even though I begged them to. When his time as breeding male came to an end Kona was put in a tiny pen behind the zoo where no visitors could reach him. A keeper told me that Kona preferred to be petted rather than fed! This shows how important contact with humans and being petted was to Kona, and how much he was suffering when he was deprived of this contact.

You can see by the expression on Kona’s face that he is very unhappy and depressed

One branch of ethology “Behaviourism” decreed that you must be able to measure scientifically any behaviour otherwise it must be discounted: “if you can’t measure it, don’t make up stories about it”. Thus research into subjective experiences like emotions became taboo. Behaviourism gained prominence in the early 20^th century fostered by an ethologist named B.F Skinner. Behaviourism undermined research into the inner lives of animals.

Even today, a significant number of ethologists refuse to accept that animals can experience emotions, unless these emotions can be scientifically proven. This unfortunate belief shows a complete lack of intelligence and sensitivity to animals.

Fortunately, attitudes towards animal emotions began to change near the end of the 20^th century. Ethologists and, in particular, Animal Welfare scientists, in the 1980s, like Marian Stamp Dawkins at Oxford University, began to research how animals experience their world.

One area of research gave animals the opportunity to choose what they wanted, and how much they wanted it, by seeing how much effort an animal would put into achieving what she wanted. For example, how heavy a door would a hen push for the opportunity to perch at night.

Understanding what an animal experiences can be a challenge. Animal welfare researchers are devising scientific ways to study the emotions and subjective experiences of different animal species, in an effort to try to prove how an animal feels based on observable physiological criteria and on behaviour. However, some scientists believe that feelings are too subjective and ultimately unknowable. Many believe we can never completely understand what another human is thinking or feeling, let alone what an animal is thinking or feeling.

Animal welfare scientists are also turning to the field of human psychology as a basis for their experiments with animals. One well-known feature of human psychology is that a person’s emotional state, negative or positive, will bias their thoughts and decisions. Psychologists use the term “affect” for these influential mental states. “Affect” acts as a filter through which one sees the world and is often the result of past positive or negative experiences. To study this the researchers devised an experiment to see how certain experiences might influence the decisions a rat makes.

One experiment to test how mood affects decisions was to train rats to associate one tone with a positive stimulus (tasty food) and a different tone with a negative stimulus (an unpleasant noise). The rats learned to press a lever when they heard the positive tone but not to press the lever when they heard the tone associated with the negative stimulus. The researchers then put one group of rats in a pleasant and predictable environment and the other group of rats in an annoyingly variable, unpredictable environment. Some days later the researchers played each animal a tone with a wavelength between the positive and negative stimulus tones. The rats who had lived in the pleasant, predictable environment pressed the lever with this new tone suggesting that they were optimistic that by pressing the lever they would get a positive stimulus/treat. The rats who had lived in the unpredictable, annoying environment either did not press the lever at all or were very slow to press it, suggesting that they were pessimistic rather than optimistic about getting a treat.

In other words, whether or not the rats pressed the lever seemed to depend on whether they felt positive or negative about their world, and this depended on which environment they lived in.

This and other experiments have shown that animals (and people) are usually braver and more adventurous if they are feeling positive about life.

This type of experiment is called a “judgement bias task”.

Pain is also experienced by humans and other animals. Pain has two components. One component of pain is physical and consists of physiological features including the activation of sensory receptors when nerve cells fire. The response is a reflex reaction or a basic learned response, no conscious awareness is required.

There is also an emotional component to pain which manifests itself in more complex behaviours. For example, mice like an ambient temperature which is up to 10°C higher than the temperature in most research labs. To overcome this, mice build elaborate nests in their cages to help them keep warm. However, when the mice are in pain or are distressed they no longer have the ability or the desire to build these nests.

Facial expressions are another, more direct way, to assess pain or stress in animals. A range of facial expressions in different species, including sheep, mice and horses, have been identified and it takes a person less than 30 minutes to learn how to accurately identify these expressions on an animal’s face.

Animal’s faces and behaviours reveal many more emotions, as I continually observe with the herd of capybaras at Nagasaki Bio Park.

Hopefully, the findings of the scientists which confirm that animal’s feel emotions will lead to changes in the way we treat the animals in our care.

With species who are very different to mammals it becomes more challenging to identify emotions. Octopuses are a case in point. The evolutionary distance between humans and octopuses is enormous and their brain structures are very different to those of a vertebrate. However, research on this species indicates that they do have emotional awareness.

One study by Robyn Crook, a neuroscientist at San Francisco State University, showed that octopuses seem to experience the emotional component of pain. First octopuses were allowed to move freely in an enclosure with three separate chambers and each octopus chose a chamber which they preferred. Then the octopuses were injected with either a painful stimulant, or a painful stimulant together with a pain relieving medicine.

The octopuses who had been injected with the painful stimulant were put in a chamber which they had previously liked. The octopuses who had been given the pain relieving medication were put in a chamber which they had previously not liked. Once the painful stimuli had worn off these octopuses were put into the chamber which they had previously liked. The Octopuses who had been given the pain relieving medication were put into a chamber which they had previously not liked.

As a result of their experiences in the chamber, either positive or negative, the octopuses who had received the pain relieving medication now preferred the chamber which they previously had not liked but in which they were placed after they received the pain relieving medication, which appeared to be a positive experience. The octopuses who received the painful medication avoided their originally preferred chamber, and now preferred the chamber they had previously not liked, as they no longer liked the chamber they had previously liked, but which had now become associated with the unpleasant sensation of pain.

This would seem to indicate that the octopuses had an emotional reaction to the negative or positive experience, which they associated with a particular chamber, and this influenced their revised preferences.

To summarise: this experiment found that octopuses avoid locations where they had experienced a painful sensation. This suggests that the octopuses experienced and remembered pain on an emotional level.

Research on the behaviour, physiology and neuroanatomy of fish, crustaceans and cephalopods is beginning to show that these species, very different to us and other mammals, do experience emotions and do feel pain.

From an ethical point of view it would be much better to treat these species as being able to feel pain. Perhaps they should even be considered to be sentient.

Anticipatory Behaviour in Animals Is an Important Indicator of Animal Welfare

Anticipatory behaviour refers to the behaviours an animal exhibits when the animal prepares for a predictable event. This is a well validated measure of Animal Welfare for many species.

In the video below, the capybaras are getting excited as they anticipate the arrival of their dinner. It is just after 4 PM which is the time their dinner often arrives.

A low level of Anticipatory Behaviour is usually a positive sign, as this shows that the animal is looking forward to an upcoming event. However, high or excessive levels of Anticipatory Behaviour indicate a lack of stimulation in the animals’ environment (known as “Reward Sensitivity Theory”).

The fewer positive events there are in an animal’s day, the more the animal will become fixated on an event.

To use Anticipatory Behaviour as an indication of welfare we need to understand what would be considered a low-level of Anticipatory Behaviour and what would be considered an excessive level of Anticipatory Behaviour.

To solve this problem a study looked at the thresholds for anticipatory behaviour in dolphins and correlated the levels of anticipatory behaviour with “cognitive bias” results. Cognitive Bias is a measure of optimistic or pessimistic decisions, as well as overall welfare. The results with dolphins suggest that if they perform anticipatory behaviour for more than about 20% of the time they may be experiencing a more negative mental state. If they exhibit anticipatory behaviour less than 10% of the time this probably indicates a positive mental state. If they exhibit anticipatory behaviour more than 16% of the time this indicated that the dolphin was feeling less than positive about life.

Further research needs to be done on different species and also on different groups of dolphins, in order to define the thresholds of Anticipatory Behaviour which correlate with positive or negative mental states for the animals.

Additionally, different measures of Animal Welfare need to be tested and compared, for each group or species, in order to understand what the levels of Anticipatory Behaviour indicate.

Anticipatory behaviour is also linked to Abnormal Repetitive Behaviour, known as Stereotypies.

Hinase and Zabon both exhibited extended periods of Abnormal Repetitive Behaviour, rubbing their noses up and down on the gate to the separate enclosure where the breeding male capybara lived, in this case Toku. They were extremely frustrated at not being able to be with him.

You can see Hinase’s stress behaviour in this video:

Capybara Stress Behaviour Stereotypies Abnormal Repetitive Behaviour Hinase

This repetitive behaviour where Hinase rubs her nose up and down repeatedly for long periods of time is indicative of stress. The scientific name for this behaviour is Stereotypies or Abnormal Repetitive Behaviour (A R B). Hinase was number one in the hierarchy at Nagasaki Bio Park. She was a seven-year-old female capybara at the time this video was made. The breeding male, Toku, is kept in a separate enclosure in order to control breeding. Hinase is very frustrated that she cannot be with Toku. Her frustration makes her more aggressive towards some of the other capybaras in the herd, particularly Butter who is at the bottom of the hierarchy. The capybaras which Hinase’s most aggressive to appear to be junior capybaras who do not behave in a suitably submissive way. Many of the capybaras become alert when Hinase approaches, ready to move away if they sense she will be aggressive towards them. Butter sometimes seems oblivious to Hinase’s presence and occasionally even tries to share Hinase’s food trough. Hinase will only share her food trough with her own offspring or, less frequently, her best friend Momiji, who is number two in the hierarchy.

I Fell in Love With A Capybara

This book is for anyone who would like a shorter book than my Opus “My Life with Capybaras. What Capybaras Have Taught Me“, and would like to read about Pet Capybaras.

My books will be a joy for anyone who loves capybaras and wants to learn more about them: “My Life with Capybaras. What Capybaras Have Taught Me“, as an e-book and as 3 separate paperbacks and 3 separate e-books.

Paperback: Book 1: “I Fell in Love With A Capybara”. (About the pet capybaras I know and loved)

These are by far the most comprehensive books about capybaras. With a huge number of photos and links to my videos of the capybaras and their behaviours, mentioned in the books. My knowledge comes from over 12 years spent in the company of capybaras (spending all day, every day for 6 – 8 months a year), observing capybaras intently and learning about them. I write about Capybaras I know: Pet Capybaras, Capybaras Rescued As Pups in South America, The Fascinating Lives and Relationships of Capybaras in A Herd. The Many Fascinating Things I Have Discovered about Capybaras

The book features stories about the rich, interesting and often very emotional lives of pet capybaras, especially Romeo and Tuff’n.

I fell in love with Romeo and Tuff’n. They became family to me and I became part of their herd. I loved them more than anyone except my husband.

This book will not disappoint.

Romeo and Tuff’n lived with Marvin and Elizabeth as members of their family. They slept in the family bed and joined us all for any activity which interested them and which they enjoyed. Capybaras are exceptionally emotional and none more so than Romeo. If any of us were ill or injured, Romeo would spend the day beside us on the bed being very affectionate, trying to make us feel better, which of course he did.

When Elizabeth’s young nephews came to spend the night Romeo would sit beside them and stay awake all night to guard them. He seemed to know that young ones, of any species, needed to be looked after with special care.

Romeo and Tuff’n learned many English words and phrases and responded to everything we said, when it suited them.

My days spent in their company are the most memorable days of my life.

I spent 4 to 6 months of every year with Romeo and Tuff’n, watching them, interacting with them and learning about them and their behaviours and responses to situations, especially their emotional responses. And their often very cute strategies to get what they wanted.

I wrote my books to share my passion for capybaras and the knowledge, insight and understanding which I gained about this captivating species.

Capybaras are exceptional.

My books about capybaras will be a joy for anyone who loves animals and capybaras and wants to learn more about capybaras. My books provide by far the most comprehensive information about capybaras.

I include a huge number of color photos.

My observations go beyond any research paper I have read on this species. (For the record, “Animal Personality” is a new field of scientific research).

There are links to videos which illustrate the scenes I write about and capybara behaviour.

I also give information on how to look after a capybara, health issues, treatments and how to create a safe environment.

Nobody else has written about capybaras with as much Insight, Understanding, Knowledge and Humour.

An award-winning novelist who writes about capybaras and has a Ph.D. in Biology wrote:
“I think your book about capybaras has an important feature which makes it different from all other books about these animals. You are the most mindful and observant person writing about capybaras. I would say that your observations have a great scientific value. And, at the same time, you relate to your capybara friends very personally. Thus, your book will appeal to readers who are interested in personal and popular stories about capybaras, which are also scientifically sound.”

What other people have said about me: This tribute came from Tim Andrews who loves capybaras and has followed my posts and videos over the years.

No one has done more than LizDonguri Capaldi Capybara to champion the cause of capybaras online, and to fight back against the myths that cause them to be mistreated. Her writings and YouTube videos exploring their characters, their intelligence, and just how much we can learn from them are truly legendary. Liz herself though is also truly inspirational for just how much she has dedicated herself to championing their cause and their ideas.

And so for that reason, she is today’s Awesome Person of The Day

You should all check out her YouTube channel and her blog as well (Capybara World)”.

Another capybara aficionado, whose father was Agricultural Minister in Uruguay, wrote of Tim Andrews tribute:
“I can’t imagine a more justified honour than this. Since a long time ago you have dedicated yourself to the study and understanding of capybaras in every possible way. Day after day. With love, method and seriousness. I admire you. I also envy your perseverance. Congratulations! I feel delighted that you have received such recognition. You deserve it. You have earned it.”

Another wrote: “I guess you were a capybara in your previous life, you understand almost everything about them”.

One person in South America who rescued a newborn capybara pup whose mother was killed by predators describes her capybara, now 7 years old: “Ramos has had a huge impact on me. I see him as godlike. Capybaras seem to know so much more than we know. Capybaras feel things we are completely unaware of. They sense things before they happen. For me Ramos is a superior being.” Ramos lives with dogs, cats and rescued tapirs, peccaries, sheep, pigs and cows. But her capybara stands apart as a very special being.

Many people believe I know more about capybaras than anyone.

My books are aimed at: Adult General Reader, interested in Animals, Capybaras, Animal Behaviour and Animal Cognition.

Best Book About Capybaras

I have just published my book: “My Life with Capybaras. What Capybaras Have Taught Me”

This book will be a joy for anyone who loves capybaras and wants to learn more about them. It is by far the most comprehensive book about capybaras.

The book is a steal at $14.99!

It has much more information than any other book about capybaras, with a huge number of color photos.

I have published my original e-book “My Life with Capybaras. What Capybaras Have Taught Me” in 3 parts as 3 separate paperbacks.

Book 1: “I Fell in Love With A Capybara” is the story of the capybaras who changed my life including Romeo and Tuff’n. Capybaras are such interesting and emotional animals and their lives often read like a gripping human drama. I also include the story of 2 capybaras who were rescued as newborns in South America. One was rescued from her mother’s womb after hunters killed her mother. The other was just a few hours old when a friend of mine found him alone and cold and close to death. His mother had been killed by a predator. I also include information on capybara health and welfare issues and medications.

This book is also available as an E-book: “I Fell in Love With A Capybara”

Book 2: The Fascinating Lives and Relationships Of Capybaras In A Herd

Capybaras are very interesting and their lives and relationships are fascinating, partly because they are such sensitive and emotional animals (capybaras have high emotional intelligence). I talk about the lives of some of my favourite capybaras, including Donguri, Momiji, Choco, Donut, Aoba, Hinase, Yasushi and Ryoko who lived as part of the herd at Nagasaki Bio Park. Their behaviours are often the same as what a human would do in that same situation. Their story often reads like an intensely dramatic and gripping human drama. Donguri was very wise, compassionate and peaceloving. Momiji was the best capybara mother doing everything for her babies and teaching them. Choco invented many new behaviours which the other capybaras then copied. Donut inherited his mother, Momiji’s, wisdom and great mothering skills! When Zabon was too weak to look after her babies, Donut would wait for them to come out of their separate enclosure, sitting by the entrance gate, and he would then follow them around, guarding them, making sure they did not fall in the pond and make sure they were safe, often helped by his mother, Momiji. Aoba became the great matriarch of the herd, wise, intelligent and very sensitive. It was a massive tragedy that she was never allowed to breed – this was done to punish me as the chief capybara keeper new Aoba was my favourite female and I obviously wanted her to have babies. She was the largest, most magnificent female capybara and would have been the first choice to breed at any other zoo. The Biopark was also the ultimate loser as they have not had capybara babies for 5 years now. Ryoko was highly intelligent and did not trust the chief capybara keeper at all. Even if the chief capybara keeper approached her with a huge branch of bamboo, Ryoko with stand-up ready to move away if she became suspicious of the chief capybara keeper’s intentions. Hinase captured my heart with her strength of mind and willpower in overcoming her increasing frailty and old age, determined to do everything she had done all her life despite her weakness. Now that Donut is number 1 in the hierarchy he has to face the challenge from 4 other neutered males. He does this with great wisdom and perception knowing that he has to maintain his dominance without arousing the aggression of the other neutered males, particularly Syrup. Whip is a sweetheart, very gentlemanly. He avoids aggression and hates to fight, unlike his brothers Syrup and Prune.

Book 3: Capybaras Are Special. Discover More About Capybaras

This book includes the many extremely interesting things I have learnt about capybaras and includes information that is not available on the Internet or in any research paper.

I have spent more time than anyone with capybaras, observing them intently and learning about them, their behaviours and relationships. For the past 12 years, except during the pandemic, I have spent all day, every day for at least 3 months of the year with capybaras, learning about them.

I write about Capybaras I know: Pet Capybaras, Capybaras Rescued As Pups in South America,The Fascinating Lives and Relationships of Capybaras living in a Herd. Capybara Herd Behaviour,The Many Fascinating Things I Have Discovered about Capybaras. The strategies capybaras use to get what they want.

My observations go beyond any research paper I have read on this species. (for the record, “Animal Personality” is a new field of scientific research).

My knowledge comes from 12 years spent in the company of capybaras (spending all day, every day for 6 – 8 months a year), observing capybaras intently and learning about them.

There are links to videos which illustrate the scenes I write about and capybara behaviour.

I also give information on how to look after a capybara, health issues, treatments and how to create a safe environment.

Nobody else has written about capybaras with as much insight, understanding, knowledge and humour.

An award-winning novelist who writes about capybaras and has a Ph.D. in Biology wrote:
“I think your book about capybaras has an important feature which makes it different from all other books about these animals. You are the most mindful and observant person writing about capybaras. I would say that your observations have a great scientific value. And, at the same time, you relate to your capybara friends very personally. Thus, your book will appeal to readers who are interested in personal and popular stories about capybaras, which are also scientifically sound.”

What other people have said about me: This tribute came from Tim Andrews who loves capybaras and has followed my posts and videos over the years.

No one has done more than LizDonguri Capaldi Capybara to champion the cause of capybaras online, and to fight back against the myths that cause them to be mistreated. Her writings and YouTube videos exploring their characters, their intelligence, and just how much we can learn from them are truly legendary. Liz herself though is also truly inspirational for just how much she has dedicated herself to championing their cause and their ideas.

And so for that reason, she is today’s Awesome Person of The Day

You should all check out her YouTube channel and her blog as well (Capybara World)”.

Another capybara aficionado, whose father was Agricultural Minister in Uruguay, wrote of Tim Andrews tribute:
“I can’t imagine a more justified honour than this. Since a long time ago you have dedicated yourself to the study and understanding of capybaras in every possible way. Day after day. With love, method and seriousness. I admire you. I also envy your perseverance. Congratulations! I feel delighted that you have received such recognition. You deserve it. You have earned it.”

Another wrote: “I guess you were a capybara in your previous life, you understand almost everything about them”.

One person in South America who rescued a newborn capybara pup whose mother was killed by predators describes her capybara, now 7 years old: “Ramos has had a huge impact on me. I see him as godlike. Capybaras seem to know so much more than we know. Capybaras feel things we are completely unaware of. They sense things before they happen. For me Ramos is a superior being.” Ramos lives with dogs, cats and rescued tapirs, peccaries, sheep, pigs and cows. But her capybara stands apart as a very special being.

Many people believe that I know more about capybaras than anyone.

I wrote my book to share my passion for capybaras and to inform people about this captivating species.  Capybaras are exceptional.

My book is aimed at: Adult General Reader, interested in Capybaras, Animals, Animal Behaviour and Animal Cognition.

ジャザは、日本の動物園での動物福祉は良くないことを認めています。It is well-known that Animal Welfare at Zoos in Japan Is Not Good. JAZA, the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Knows This. Jaza承認日本動物園的動物福利不好。

A wise zookeeper at a zoo in Fukuoka is on record as saying: “Animal Welfare is not well understood in Japan. Most Japanese people do not understand animals.”

Part of the problem is cultural. Most Japanese people do not understand animals, they cannot conceive of animals as sentient beings who can think and feel. Therefore animals in zoos are simply there as entertainment or as things to be played with.

Nagasaki Bio Park even has a notice asking people to wash their hands before and after “playing” with the animals!

As an indication of the warped cultural perceptions: Nagasaki Bio Park is often described as “A Paradise for Capybaras” even though the capybaras have no access to grass which should be the essential component of their diet, as it is in the wild and at good zoos throughout the world. At every zoo in Britain capybaras live in grass enclosures.

Animals are big business in Japan, especially if they are cute. When a new panda cub arrived at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, Kansai University estimated the cub had the potential to boost the Tokyo area economy by \26.7 billion yen over the course of a year.

At most zoos in Japan basic Animal Welfare requirements do not exist. International visitors frequently leave negative comments such as: “Cramped, tiny enclosures with concrete floors and stressed and listless animals.

In the case of capybaras, many, possibly most, zoos in Japan do not provide even the most basic requirements for this semi aquatic animal. You will find capybaras in tiny pens with concrete floors and a small plastic tub of water, barely large enough for one capybara to fit in. Capybaras are semiaquatic and very active and playful in water in their natural habitat. They need a large pond to exhibit these natural behaviours. It is heartbreaking to see them being given just a small plastic tub – a cynical and cruel acknowledgement that these are animals which need access to water.

You can see just how graceful capybaras are when they have the space to exhibit their natural aquatic behaviours in the video below. The pond in this video is at Nagasaki Bio Park and is excellent.

How Ryosuke controls Prune. Capybara Graceful Water Dance. 優雅的水舞カピバラの優雅なウォーターダンス

There are a few excellent primate facilities in Japan which meet international Animal Welfare standards.

The head of the Japan Association of Zoos and Aquariums, JAZA, acknowledges the problem and says he would like to see zoos move from being places merely for people’s entertainment to becoming facilities for teaching people about animals and the different species, and promoting respect and understanding for these animals. He also stresses the need to promote conservation and biodiversity, following Europe and America’s lead. However he appears to be doing little to resolve the Animal Welfare issue.

One of the biggest barriers to significant reform is that no specific laws exist to define the roles of zoos or govern their management.

As one professor of Animal Law at Nagasaki University told me: “We only have laws to protect pet animals, like dogs and cats”.

There is still no national system of accreditation for zoos and aquariums in Japan, even though they exist for institutions such as museums! This fact tells you how little importance is attached to animals in Japan.

Only about half of all zoos in Japan are members of JAZA. These number about 151.

There are many small zoos in Japan, often in city centre locations, where people can relieve their stress by being with or petting animals. The demand is great as Japan can be a very stressful society as indicated by the high suicide rate.

These small zoos are often in completely inappropriate places such as beside a busy, main road with only a fence separating the animals from the speeding, noisy traffic. Foreign visitors frequently comment that the animals in petting zoos look stressed and unhealthy because of all the attention and petting they receive, giving them no time to relax and sleep.

There is even an indoor petting zoo in a shopping mall where an adult male lion lives! Called the Meccha Suwareru Zoo it is inside the Pieri Moriyama shopping mall in Shiga prefecture.

It is not unusual to find large animals like alpacas in these small indoor petting zoos.

Many zoos in Japan invite visitors to handle and pet their animals, especially baby animals. This often breaks the bond between the mother and her baby, leading to behavioural and health issues both for the mother and her offspring as he grows older. I know of one case where the keepers’ handling of the mother’s newborn pups destroyed the bond between mother and her pups and led to the premature death of the mother only two months after she had given birth.

Nagasaki Bio Park used to boast, quite justifiably, that at their zoo the mother capybara looked after her pups who stayed with her in a separate enclosure for the first 6 weeks of their life and were not handled at all by the keeper. That has recently changed, presumably in the misguided intention of making the baby capybaras more receptive to being handled by humans! This was quite unnecessary as within 2 – 3 days of being released into the capybara herd, after being separated for the first 6 weeks of their lives, the pups were completely at ease being petted by the visitors.

Wild animals tend to be viewed in a two-dimensional and superficial way in Japan. Documentaries and other media promote these wild animals as “cute”. By promoting cuteness the media reinforces the view of people in Japan that animals are cute rather than real. There is usually no attempt to provide information about a species or to encourage people to take an interest in animals as sentient beings.

To rectify Animal Welfare issues zoos must understand the importance for captive animals to have some control over their lives and to be able to exhibit their natural behaviours. This means enclosures must be designed to provide the species with the space and facilities they need to exhibit these natural behaviours. In many zoos if a space becomes available, an animal is found to occupy that space regardless of whether the space is suitable for that animal.

One tragic Animal Welfare case focused the spotlight on Japan’s insensitivity to animal suffering when a petition was launched to try to rescue an elephant named Hanako, who had been kept alone in solitary isolation for over 60 years at Tokyo’s Inokashira Park Zoo, and send her back to Thailand.

Standards in zoos around the world, in Europe, Australia, and North America have been improving in recent decades. It is time for Japan to catch up.

But first Japan must embrace the latest research on Animal Welfare, including in my own field, Capybara Husbandry. In my experience most zoo directors, management and chief animal keepers have no understanding of animals and do not speak English. This means they are completely out of touch with modern Animal Welfare practice and the latest research on different species. The lack of English often means they have no concept of Animal Welfare and continue to promote their animals as entertainment.

As in so many traditional Japanese companies, the rules are enforced by very conservative people, often older men, who do not like to move with the times and do not feel comfortable with change. The zookeepers are also often what my friends describe as very conservative people, who often do not feel comfortable thinking for themselves in order to make the best decisions.

Donut

The way the capybaras are fed at Nagasaki Bio Park is deeply concerning. They are given two small “meals” a day of vegetables. For the rest of the day the capybaras have to beg for bamboo and pellets from visitors, some of whom tease the capybaras. This is a completely unscientific and unsatisfactory way of feeding an animal. Some capybaras are very successful at being fed by visitors while others get no bamboo or pellets at all. If they are hungry there is hay, but hay is very low in nutrients compared with the grass which they would eat in their natural habitat and at every good zoo.

Older animals need more nutrition and protein but Nagasaki Bio Park ignores this. The capybara keepers, in this rules-based society, follow the rules and only feed the capybaras twice a day even if this results in a capybara not getting enough to eat and dying prematurely.

Most importantly, the capybaras have no access to grass. As mentioned above it is a basic tenet of modern Animal Welfare that animals in captivity must be able to exhibit their natural behaviours and have some control over their lives. For capybaras this means being able to eat grass whenever they are hungry and to have control over when they eat.

One older capybara, Donut, does not get enough to eat. He eats very little during the day, if at all, as he is often either not in the visitor area, or he is sleeping when visitors offer him food . Also not many visitors offer Donut food. Also, Donut has a sore leg so he often spends a long time in the pond, resting his leg, away from the area frequented by visitors. When he is in the petting area he does not walk around begging for food because of his sore leg. Only a temporary keeper at the Biopark gives Donut the extra food he needs. This keeper is the son of a senior manager and is much more intelligent than the other capybara keepers.

If Donut could eat grass whenever he was hungry he would get the nutrition he needs.

The price of pellets went up after the pandemic so the capybaras are no longer given pellets and the pellet containers contain as few as 7 small pellets! The containers used to hold 25 – 30 pellets.

When I first visited Nagasaki Bio Park in 2012 the capybaras were given a much larger amount of vegetables such that there were always leftover vegetables for any capybara who was still hungry up to about midday or even 1 PM on occasions. In the past there was one chief capybara keeper who would give a thin capybara extra pellets, bamboo and a nutritious green plant during the day. She also let one slightly smaller capybara, Keiko, graze for half an hour or so outside the enclosure when Keiko managed to escape. She also took the most senior capybaras out for a walk for about 90 minutes to graze on the grass growing down the hill from the capybara enclosure on days when the Bio Park was not busy. Other keepers in the past would give the capybaras a mid afternoon snack of pellets.

However, there appears to be a new layer of management imposing rigid rules which control the behaviour of the keepers. This means that the keepers do not respond to the needs of each capybara but feel compelled to follow the rules. When you are working with animals you cannot impose rigid rules and expect the animals to thrive.

A good keeper would evaluate each animal based on his needs and ensure the healthiest outcome for each animal.

At Nagasaki Bio Park much of the capybaras’ enclosure is concrete which can lead to swellings and sores on the capybara’s “elbow” joints.

I have tried so hard to persuade the Biopark to hear the modern Animal Welfare science which experts in the field have developed. Others have contacted the Biopark asking them to listen to me. But heartbreakingly our efforts have fallen on deaf ears.

A friend wrote the following in response to this blog:

Just thought to send a few thoughts on this topic. I was browsing reddit some time ago, and came across a thread on animal rights.

What you said at the start of your article is so true- animal rights is not well understood in Japan, if at all. Animals are not thought of as sentinent beings, more of possessions/things that need to be ‘cute’ at all times, and quickly pass out of the thoughts of the ‘viewer’.

There are numerous accounts of the horrible treatment of animals at zoos (which you mentioned); and venturing out into the suburbs/countryside of Japan reveals the cruel treatment of even ‘pets’.
I remember going to stay in a ryokan inn in the countryside once, and I went outside to see the stars better from behind the inn. I heard some noise, and smelt the smell of old oil. After taking a few steps, I saw a kennel, illuminated by my phone light. There was a dog, chained to the kennel. The chain barely let him move more than his own body’s length out of the kennel. An old bowl of water was there, and maybe some discarded food scraps. The ground around the kennel was bare, the poor darling had nothing left to do. He wagged his tail at me, desperate for any interaction. I stroked his fur, and he was so, so desperate for human touch, and contact, that I was moved to tears. I showed the proprietress my oil-sleaked hand, and asked what was up with the treatment of the dog, saying that it was totally irresponsible, and animal abuse. She was like ‘oh, my husband used the dog as a hunting dog, so he’s just out there now because my husband passed a few years back. I feed him and give him water, so what is the problem?’

Imagine, going from being a hunting dog, all that exercise and stimulation, to spending YEARS attached to a two meter chain, unable to move, to run, to exercise, to do nothing but stare at the sky. And I am sure it snows heavily in that region. The only thing that protected it from death during those years I am sure is that kennel… Decaying, hole-riddled piece of wood it was.

This was just heartbreaking. The old lady proprietress somehow didn’t get what I was saying, and only apologised for the state of my oily hand. That was all that she was concerned about. That poor, poor dog.

PSA- do not google what Japan does with unwanted dogs, because I believe they top the world with that particular horrifying statistic. Add to that all of the pet stores where the animal has barely the space to move or stretch, and is surrounded by people and artificial lights and newspaper all day long…

On the topic of animals not being housed properly, the other day in the countryside I saw a MEERCAT in a cage in a pet store. Sold for dirt cheap, the poor darling could barely move. Never mind that it is illegal trade for sure, it is not against the law in Japan to own exotic animals.

There are heaps of videos in Japanese on YouTube of people owning multiple exotic animals in shanty cages, nocturnals next to predator next to prey, all under artifical lights, being fed dog food or some shit… and all of the comments in Japanese are POSITIVE! Oh, so cute! Look at those colors! How adorable! NOTHING, NOT A WORD, about how cruel it is to do that to poor animals. The mistreatment becomes an active sales point. It is an absolute tragedy. 

It is good that there are associations such as JAZA here. Unfortunately, the issue seems to be that the law is very grey around this. Even though animal abuse is outlawed, good luck getting a prosecutor to take the case (even if there is clear cut evidence, they are probably overloaded, given Japan’s 99% successful prosecution rate… gotta love those forced confessions). 

Other places just simply do not care, due to the outdated attitudes that you very clearly described. 

It is heartbreaking to hear of the changes in breeding in Nagasaki Bio Park- what a stressful and horrible practice for the poor babies. I find that most dogs/cats in pet stores here too also are sold at 1-2 months old, far too young to be seperated from their parents.

What ended up happening to poor Hanako? I cannot believe such a beautiful animal, especially one with such socialisation necessities, was kept alone for such a long time… I hope she managed to escape. 

The directors and managers etc could even try to at the very least Google translate some of the animal welfare content produced in English, if they were even interested, that is. But they are not, and want to stay in their insulated bubble. Like one of the previous emails I sent, many Japanese think Japan is the center of the world, and do not want to even concern themselves with world affairs outside Japan, because it is ‘irrelevant.’ I remember when the Capitol was stormed, my fellow foreign coworkers and I were all over the news, worried about such a cataclismic event happening, while our Japanese coworkers didn’t know/care why this was such a big deal, and told us insensitively just to get back to work and ‘stop doing non-work related things.’ It is so sad that the capybaras are going hungry, and have to ‘perform’ to visitors for their little pellets that they need for their nutrition… It is inhumane and disgusting. Poor babies. Especially poor Donut… as an older capybara, as you stated, needs more attention and nutrients, and he is being just left alone with his poor sore leg… how you have not lost your temper and raged at these people I do not know. 

This Is Heartbreaking! The Destruction of The Pantanal Will Be Catastrophic For Capybaras

The Pantanal is the World’s largest wetland ecosystem and therefore home to a very large number of capybaras. However, due to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest there is much less rain during the rainy season. As a result the Pantanal has lost 74% of its surface water since the 1990s. If the situation does not improve it is believed the Pantanal will have lost all its wetlands within 30 years! This would be a disaster for the capybara population. This also led to the fires in 2020 in the Pantanal which killed at least 65 million animals. All this destruction is, of course, caused by humans.

Less than 2% of the Pantanal is protected with the result that it is under destruction from large-scale agriculture mostly cattle ranching and soya cultivation, as well as water pollution etc.. The fertility of the soil after the rain forest is cleared only lasts a very short time. It is tragic that The Rainforest, which is at least 10 million years old (this is as far back as scientists have traced it so far – The Rainforest could be much older) can be so wantonly destroyed.

The ash from slash-and-burn makes the soil fertile for only a maximum of three years. After that the soil is exposed to erosion and lost forever. Despite this agricultural companies are clearing more rainforest areas in Brazil than ever before. 80 percent of the clearances are illegal and serve above all to expand land ownership.

At 42 million acres, the Pantanal covers an area slightly larger than England and stretches across 3 countries: Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. (The Nature Conservancy says the Pantanal covers 68,000 square miles and is more than 20 times the size of the Everglades.)  About 80% of the Pantanal is in Brazil. The Pantanal is one of the most biologically rich environments on the planet with more than 4, 700 animal and plant species. The rainy season lasts from October to March after which the rainwater which has been deposited slowly drains away, providing an ideal aquatic habitat and nutrient renewal.

The Pantanal Is On Fire

Extreme drought has been affecting The Pantanal since 2019. Deforestation of the Amazon and the widespread use of fire in “slash and burn” to clear forested areas, together with decreasing rainfall resulting in extremely dry soil and dry vegetation have created a disastrous scenario in which at least 65 million native vertebrates species have been affected. Wildfires can result in death and injuries to these animals. However, they also suffer from habitat loss and the increasing destruction of the resources which keep them alive. In the Pantanal nearly 98% of wildfires are caused by human activities, which may be criminal or accidental. The future for the Pantanal looks bleak with the likelihood of severe droughts and future catastrophic wildfires. Recurring wildfires, covering large areas, are causing the destruction of large areas of the Pantanal. There is also a need for a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre.

The Pantanal is extremely important for the conservation of biological diversity. The Pantanal is home to about 80 species of mammals, 650 species of birds, 50 of reptiles and 300 of fish.  Numerous threatened species are protected by the Pantanal Conservation Area: giant armadillo, giant anteater, giant otter, marsh deer and the hyacinth macaw, the largest species of parrot. The number of aquatic plant species found there is also remarkable.

The Pantanal is in a fragile state. This is due to the effects of negative human activities including deforestation, acute erosion, waste waters and waste materials, dams which interfere with water levels and change because of water flows, dredging and excessive fishing. Tourism creates additional problems including illegal sport fishing, disturbance of nesting areas and requests for luxury items which are a source of pollution. There is also the tragic trade in wild animal species.

The Best Milk Replacement Formulae for Baby Capybaras Who Have To Be Bottle-Fed

Capybara pups are lactose intolerant which is why you have to be very careful in choosing a milk replacement for a capybara pup who cannot suckle his mother’s milk. Cow’s milk is not suitable.

1. Wombaroo Capybara Milk Replacer

This is the only milk formula specifically formulated for baby capybaras. It has a higher protein content and fat content than other milk formulas for most other species. It comes from Australia.

https://wombaroo.com/shop/ols/products/wombaroo-capybara-milk-replacer-2kg

DIRECTIONS FOR USE: To make 1 litre of milk mix 190g of powder with 870ml of preboiled warm water. Add about half of the water first, mix to a paste then make up to 1 litre with remaining water and mix thoroughly. An electric whisk can be used for mixing.

Normal Growth and Development of capybara pups:  Typical birth weight is 1.5 – 2.0 kg. Average daily weight gain is about 50-100g per day until weaning at 3 months (approx. 8kg body weight).

For newborn capybara pups who have not received any or sufficient colestrum:  feed Impact Colostrum Supplement

Analysis

• Protein 42%
• Fat 24%
• Carbohydrate 22%
• Ash 6%
• Moisture 4%
• Metabolisable Energy (ME) 20MJ/kg

2 . Zoologic^® Milk Matrix 42/25

Zoologic^® Milk Matrix 42/25 is part of an integrated system designed to let you virtually match any mammal’s milk

https://www.petag.com/products/zoologic-milk-matrix-42-25

Available from Amazon.  Available in 5 lb bags

Product Information

Milk Matrix 42/25 is a milk replacer and nutritional supplement containing a low level of lactose. Part of an integrated system designed to let you virtually match any mammal’s milk.

Directions for Use: As a milk replacer Milk Matrix 42/25 may be used alone or blended with other products in the Matrix family to formulate a milk replacer with nutrient levels that closely match a species’ natural milk.

Directions for Feeding: As a general rule, liquid or reconstituted milk replacer should be fed at a rate of 10% or 20% of body weight daily as tolerated or required for steady growth and for proper stool condition. Divide the total daily amount into 6 to 12 feedings per day, depending on age, condition, species and staffing.

Weaning Food Supplement: Because of its highly digestible milk nutrients, the formula used during suckling is an excellent supplement during weaning as a transition from milk to solid food. Add to the diet at the rate of one teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight.

Storage: Store unopened powder in a cool dry place. Reconstituted powder must be kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Blended or unblended opened powder can be refrigerated for up to 3 months, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. Unopened powder may be frozen to extend shelf life for 6 months beyond best by date.

Download Mixing Guide:

Click to access Zoologic-Mixing-Guide.pdf

Ingredients: Casein, vegetable oil (preserved with tocopherols), dried skimmed milk, dried whey protein concentrate, dicalcium phosphate, DL-methione, L-arginine, choline chloride, lecithin, maltodextrins, calcium carbonate, monopotassium phosphate, salt, taurine, potassium chloride, magnesium sulfate, iron proteinate, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, copper proteinate, vitamin A supplement, pantothenic acid, manganese sulfate, niacin supplement, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, calcium iodate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement.

The calorie content (ME) is 4,374 kcal/kg or 4.3 kcal/g as is.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein, min ………………………………………….. 42.0%
Crude Fat, min ……………………………………………….. 25.0%
Crude Fiber, max ……………………………………………… 0.0%
Moisture, max ………………………………………………….. 5.0%

3.  Some capybara pups survive with a replacement milk powder formulated for goats, sheep and horses.

Capybara pups can graze almost from the time they are born. One friend, living in a very remote area in South America, was very relieved when her capybara pup, rescued in the wild after predators killed the mother, began to graze on day two.

If your capybara, or capybara pup, experiences diarrhoea or constipation, both of which can be life-threatening, you should always consult your vet.

Benebac is a probiotic which may cure the problem.

Bene-bac

Some people with capybaras and guinea pigs believe the probiotic ‘Bene-bac’ is a lifesaver. Some friends use it whenever the capybara’s poos become softer and sausage shaped, rather than the encapsulated, olive shaped faeces which capybaras living in their natural habitat pass.

Bene-Bac Small Animal Powder is a concentrated live culture of four common digestive bacteria found in the intestinal tracts of mammals. Bene-Bac is recommended any time an animal experiences stress from changing nutritional or environmental conditions. Contains 20 million CFU per gram of viable lactic acid producing bacteria. Powder formula is easy to mix with water.   It comes in 4 different types – the Bene-bac designed for rabbits is the correct one to use.

Constipation: Bene-bac can also be used to treat constipation. It is important to ensure your capybara drinks enough water and has access to fresh water to drink 24 hours a day. A healthy diet of unrestricted access to fresh grass should ensure a capybara does not become constipated. Chewing coarse grasses is essential for the health of capybara teeth.

Product Information

Bene-Bac® Plus Small Animal Powder is recommended any time an animal experiences changing nutritional or environmental conditions.

• Contains seven fat-encapsulated, common microorganisms found in intestinal tract of small mammals
• Provides help for changing conditions, including, but not limited to birth, breeding, post-surgery, antibiotic therapy, weaning, worming, showing, boarding and travel
• Guaranteed 20 million colony-forming units (CFU) of viable bacteria per gram
• Recommended as part of the management program for all animals subjected to adverse conditions
• May be used for regular maintenance

https://www.petag.com/products/bene-bac-plus-small-animal-powder

More detailed information about Wombaroo Capybara Milk Replacement:

©Wombaroo Food Products, Dec 2017. 10 Oborn Rd, Mt Barker SA 5251 http://www.wombaroo.com.au

TYPICAL ANALYSIS (Powder)

INGREDIENTS: Whole milk solids, whey protein, casein, vegetable oils, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, stabilised vitamin C, vitamins and minerals.

TYPICAL COMPOSITION PER LITRE OF PREPARED MILK Protein	83g	Vitamin E	14mg	Folic Acid	1.0mg	Sodium	500mg
Fat	49g	Vitamin K	1.0mg	Vitamin B12	19μg	Magnesium	80mg
-Omega 3	1.4g	Vitamin C	520mg	Biotin	80μg	Zinc	5.1mg
-Omega 6	3.4g	Thiamine	7.1mg	Choline	130mg	Iron	5.5mg
Carbohydrate	42g	Riboflavin	1.9mg	Inositol	100mg	Manganese	3.1mg
Energy (ME)	3.9MJ	Niacin	29mg	Calcium	2.2g	Copper	0.8mg
Vitamin A	470μg	Pantothenic Acid	11mg	Phosphorus	1.6g	Iodine	100μg
Vitamin D3	4.6mg	Pyridoxine	2.4mg	Potassium	1400mg	Selenium	25μg

TYPICAL ANALYSIS (Powder) Protein	42%
Fat	24%
Carbohydrate	22%
Ash	6%
Moisture	4%
Energy (ME)	20 MJ/kg

https://wombaroo.com/shop/ols/products/wombaroo-capybara-milk-replacer-2kg