You can read Donut's story on my WordPress Capybara World blog site – " Donut's Story. The Heartbreaking Story of Donut, Syrup, Whip and Ryosuke". YouTube won't let me put the link but if you put the title into a Google search with my WordPress name, you will find it.
Donut looked after absolutely everyone. He looked after every single capybara in his herd. When Zabon Was Weak He Looked After Her Babies. He ensured peace in the herd and remonstrated with any capybaras who were aggressive. When fighting broke out he would bravely intervene, at great personal risk, to break up the fight. He looked after all the babies. Every morning Donut waited for Zabon's babies to enter the main capybara enclosure, then he spent the day looking after them. Donut even looked after Marc and me. Marc often took a nap in the heat of the afternoon, in the Capy hut. This worried Donut as he was not used to seeing a lifeless man in his enclosure. So he always went up to Marc to sniff him and to make sure he was all right. Donut was a truly honourable, caring capybara whose treatment by the management at Nagasaki Bio Park is a national disgrace.
Zabon was very weak after giving birth, as she had been the previous year. She also had a foot infection, with a very swollen foot, but because she was pregnant she could not be given antibiotics to heal her foot click Firefox infection. Zabon died 2 months after giving birth. She should never have been bred for a second year when she had suffered so much after giving birth the previously year.
I have written a book all about capybaras: "My Life with Capybaras. What Capybaras Have Taught Me" All my books are available on Amazon as a paperback or an e-book.
This is one review of my book: This book is phenomenal. There is so much new, useful and insightful information about capybaras. Liz Capaldi obviously knows capybaras better than anyone and has the intelligence and sensitivity to understand and decipher what she sees and feels.
In Part 1 she writes about the lives of the pet capybaras she knows and from whom she learnt so much about capybaras. She had a very close relationship with Romeo and Tuff'n and became part of their herd. Reading about their lives where they lived as part of the family and slept in the family bed, is fascinating. She reveals so much about capybaras and the way they interact with humans and often copy human behaviours. Seeing how they had adapted to life as part of a human family, and comparing that to the lives of capybaras living as part of the herd, gave her an insight into capybaras at a much deeper level.
She also writes about 2 newborn capybaras who were rescued by friends of hers in the wild in South America. These 2 grew up as pet capybaras and had a huge effect on the people and other animals they lived with. Everyone who lives with capybaras and other animals, including dogs, says that capybaras are much smarter than even dogs, and learn much more quickly.
In Part 2 she writes about the fascinating lives and relationships of capybaras living as part of a herd. Capybaras are so emotional which is partly what makes him so interesting. Reading about each individual capybara and his or her life, loves and friendships reminded me so much of humans in similar situations. No one has written about capybara herd behaviour in as much depth or with as much understanding.
The life of a capybara living as part of the herd is quite different to the life of a pet capybara, including in the way they interact with people.
In Part 3: "The Many Fascinating Things I Have Discovered about Capybaras". She writes about what she has discovered about capybaras covering everything from the most effective way to pet a capybara, how Capybaras use their enhanced sense of smell to understand and navigate their world, "Capybaras Are the Best Dads", Capybaras have very expressive eyes and faces and how you can read their mood by the expression in their eyes. She gives us an insight into so many different things about capybaras that nobody else seems to know.
Her knowledge comes from spending 15 years (all day every day for 4 – 6 months a year) in close company with capybaras, watching them all day and learning about them.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in capybaras.
WN 1. XX Donut Babies 18 Sep 2019 141 42 43