Dieta del capibara Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris (Rodentia: Hydrochaeridae) en Caño Limón, Arauca, Colombia

Abstract

Westudied the composition and seasonal variation of the diet of the capybara (Hydrochaerishydrochaeris) in the flooded savannas of Caño Limón, Colombia. This was achieved by direct observation ofthe consumption patterns of these animals. The capybaras only consumed plants, and their diet included 89species of 22 families. Sixty three percent of these plant species had not been reported before. The most com-monly consumed plants (94% of the diet), belonged to the Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Leguminosae andPontederiaceae. Only seven species represented 60% of the total diet: the grasses Hymenachne amplexicaulis(16.9%), Digitaria bicornis(4.5%) and Panicum maximum (4.4%) and the Cyperaceae Rynchospora corymbosa(4.4%). There was seasonal variation in the diet composition of capybaras.