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Why are all the animals friends with the capybara?

Imagine a guinea pig the size of a large dog. That's a capybara! It weighs up to 60 kilograms - like an elementary school student. And it's the largest rodent on the planet. The capybara is a distant relative of small hamsters, only 100 times larger.

Capybaras live in South America - in Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina. They love water. They even have small webbed fingers, like ducks! A capybara can swim underwater for 5 minutes and even sleep in the water - only its nose and eyes are out. During the day, when it's hot, it sits in the river and chews grass.

But the most amazing thing is the character of the capybara. It is so calm and kind that other animals love to be near it! You can see birds on the back of the capybara - they pick insects from its fur. Turtles lie nearby, and a monkey sits on top. Even crocodiles often just swim past it without touching it. In social networks, the capybara is called the "queen of friends" - her photos with a wide variety of animals go around the world.

Why is that? A capybara never fights, doesn’t run away in panic, and doesn’t attack first. It chews grass, basks in the water, and hums a soft «krr-krr» to its family. Capybaras live in groups of 10-20 individuals, and always help each other. The babies ride on their mothers’ backs like they’re on a boat.

A person can learn a lot from a capybara: to be kind, not to panic, and to simply enjoy the warm sun and clean water. It is a true master of calm.