The capybaras stay: Residents of the Buenos Aires suburb of Nordelta agree to set aside refuge

A recent explosion in the number of capybaras in the upscale Buenos Aires suburb of Nordelta, has prompted local residents to agree to have a wildlife refuge be built for the gregarious but fast-multiplying rodents.

“Working with the Buenos Aires Province Flora and Fauna Directorate, Tigre County, and CONICET (Research Council) specialists to find a solution to the capybara situation, we are building a refuge,” the Nordelta Neighborhood Association (AVN) stated today.

“Nordelta is a city of 40,000 inhabitants, with a great diversity of interests and opinions. Some neighbors are very concerned about the capybaras - that enter their gardens and confront their pets, generating risky situations. And others prioritize preservation of the fauna.”

Known in Argentina as carpinchos, capybaras are the world's largest rodent - growing to around 4 feet in length and 130 pounds.

Native to much to eastern Argentina, they had largely disappeared from the Buenos Aires metro area when Nordelta was established in 1999 - the largest of a string of gated communities built since then on former wetlands around 10 to 20 miles north of Buenos Aires.

Over the last two years however, their number has risen sharply - leading to a number of accidents, damaged gardens, and the recent mauling of a miniature schnauzer.

The Association's Environmental Management, which in began to monitoring capybaras in 2014, noted that “capybara activity in Nordelta grew this year by 17%.”

The size and location of the refuge may become a sticking point though: a square meter of land in Nordelta is priced around $2,200 ($204 per ft²) - even in Argentina's currently depressed real estate market.

At: https://newswep.com/the-capybaras-stay-residents-of-nordelta-will-make-them-a-refuge/

Capybaras - known in Argentina as carpinchos - romp around the upscale Buenos Aires suburb of Nordelta in the recent Apple TV+ documentary The Year Earth Changed, narrated by David Attenborough.

The recent increase in capybaras in lake-strewn Nordelta has resulted in numerous auto accidents and other problems, prompting the neighborhood association to agree to set aside a refuge for the gregarious rodent.

The initiative has the support of Nordelta's developer, Eduardo Costantini, who today Instagrammed that "capybara are helpless and precious beings that need the care and love of all of us!!"