The capybara is a nocturnal mammal native to the arid grasslands of South America. It feeds almost exclusively on grasses and other plant matter, requiring large amounts of Vitamin A to thrive. These animals are also extremely sensitive to a shortage of nutrition, which makes them very susceptible to vitamin deficiency diseases like scurvy.
In order to prevent the spread of scurvy when the animals can’t get enough fruits and vegetables, the capybaras have evolved an interesting dietary habit: they eat oranges at least once every day! The fruit contains more than 10 times more vitamin C than any other citrus fruit and is rich in iron as well.
The reason why capybaras always have oranges is because these mammals are excellent converters of carotenoids – plant pigments that give fruits their bright colors. Whenever they eat an orange, they convert it into carotenoids (also called vitamin A precursors) that are immediately stored in their livers until they need them again later. The next time the animal eats an orange, its liver will produce new carotenoids from what it has stored previously and will release them into its blood stream so that they can be converted into vitamin A by its intestinal flora and absorbed into its body tissues at much higher rates than if it had eaten an orange with no conversion ability before.
Why Do They Put Oranges in Capybara Baths?
When researchers have tried to figure out why the capybaras are so into oranges, they’ve come up with some interesting answers. For one thing, this habit seems to have developed independently of human influence. That means it must be a keystone habit, meaning that the animals evolved a behavior that allowed them to thrive in their ecosystem and then adapted it to suit their specific needs.
Another theory is that the fruit is actually serving as an insect repellant for these animals. Regardless of the reasons behind the capybara’s affinity for oranges, these little guys seem to know what’s good for them and are enjoying some fruits in return!
Do Capybara Eat Oranges?
Capybaras do eat oranges and they have evolved a defense mechanism to ensure that they never go without one!
Can Capybaras Make Their Own Vitamin C?
Capybaras can actually make their own vitamin C, but only to a limited extent. Their bodies do convert carotenoid pigments from plant foods into vitamin C, but not at nearly the same rate as if they had eaten an orange. Vitamin C is also produced by their intestinal flora, but the capybara needs a lot of it in order to maintain health and is not able to make it on its own. When the animal eats an orange instead, its liver can store the excess and produce more when it needs it later.
Can Capybaras Get Scurvy?
The answer is yes – capybaras can get scurvy. Studies show that they will die within a few weeks of not eating oranges, but unlike humans and other mammals, these animals have a storage organ in their digestive system called the caecum that prevents vitamin C from being lost in feces. This means that even if you fed them less than half an orange per day for many months, they could still make it to old age.
Capybaras in captivity do not need to eat oranges on a daily basis because they are given enough food to ensure their survival. Capybaras are very social animals and live together with their family members in large groups called herds. When there is enough food available, the capybaras eat grasses and other plant matter at night before switching to fruits and vegetables during the day time hours.
