Capybara

'Giant rodent' spotted in US water treatment plant

A giant South American rodent weighing at least 100 lbs has been spotted at a California waste-water treatment facility, but has since disappeared in the brush

The animal was identified as a capybara, which is the world's largest rodent, and it feeds on vegetation.

"If you think a giant guinea pig is cute, then you probably would like it," said Todd Tognazzini, a lieutenant with the California Department of Fish and Game.

The capybara is believed to be an escaped pet, Mr Tognazzini said. It was last seen about two weeks ago at a waste-water treatment facility in Paso Robles, a city in a wine growing region about 175 miles northwest of Los Angeles, he said.

An employee at the plant took photos of the animal, which is estimated to stand 2 feet tall, as it crawled out of a pond.

The capybara's South American habitat ranges from Panama to northeast Argentina, east of the Andes, according to a description on the website of the San Francisco Zoo.

The animal spotted in Paso Robles was found near the Salinas River and a hot spring, a watery habitat that in some ways resembles the regions where capybaras live in South America, Mr Tognazzini said.

A capybara can hold its breath under water for up to five minutes, and spends much of its roughly four-year lifespan near the water, he said.

The latest spotting of the capybara comes two years after another sighting of the animal a mile away.

A man was feeding his horses alfalfa hay when a strange animal approached and scared off the horses to take the feed, Mr Tognazzini said. When the animal chased after the man's dog, he shot at it with a shotgun and scared it off, he said.

An examination of the footprints later revealed it was a capybara weighing between 100 lbs and 120 lbs, he said.

Officials believe that was the same animal last seen at the waste-water treatment facility in Paso Robles, and that there are no other capybaras in the area.

In California, the capybara cannot be held as a pet without a special permit, which is normally given only to zoos or individuals who exhibit wild animals and know how to care for them