{"id":630777,"date":"2026-09-20T20:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T20:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/630777\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T20:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T20:18:23","slug":"i-loved-capybaras-before-they-were-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/630777\/","title":{"rendered":"I loved capybaras before they were viral"},"content":{"rendered":"

They look like giant guinea pigs, they eat their own poop, and the Vatican once declared that they were fish.<\/p>\n

Capybaras – the world’s largest living rodents<\/a> – are unusual animals to say the least, and in recent years – helped by some high-profile capers<\/a> – the capybara craze has gripped people across the world.<\/p>\n

Now, a filmmaker has made a documentary all about them.<\/p>\n

“I loved capybaras before they were viral, I’ve loved them for many, many years, but I’m so glad they’re having a moment,” says Sharon Walia, who explores the popularity of the huge herbivores in The Route to Cappyness.<\/p>\n

“There’s merch, there’s kids with the school bags, there was the Oscar-winning film Flow which featured a capybara, and they’re popping up everywhere on memes,” Walia says.<\/p>\n

“I don’t even think this is a moment, I think this will last because it’s been going on for years now and I just think people really, really love them.”<\/p>\n

\"Capybaras<\/p>\n

Walia filmed capybaras in Curitiba in Brazil, where they are native and roam free [Sharon Walia]<\/p>\n

\"Filmmaker<\/p>\n

Walia filmed in four continents to make her documentary [Sharon Walia]<\/p>\n

The documentary is very different to Walia’s first, which was, in her own words, “very distressing” to make.<\/p>\n

“I was filming people literally drowning,” Walia says of The Movement, which followed firefighter Brendan Woodhouse<\/a> as he rescued refugees at sea.<\/p>\n

She had the idea for the film while working as a journalist for Notts TV, a former local television channel in Nottingham, when she interviewed Woodhouse for a news story.<\/p>\n

“He had resuscitated a baby off the Greek coast, it was a refugee family,” she says.<\/p>\n

“I said I would love to come and film when he was going back out on this mission.<\/p>\n

“So I kind of just left my job and picked up a camera and I basically took a huge risk.”<\/p>\n

The risk paid off, as Walia managed to get her film distributed in cinemas and it was also picked up by Amazon.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Walia’s first documentary followed a firefighter and other people as they helped refugees [Sharon Walia]<\/p>\n

By then, Walia knew she preferred making documentaries to filming news reports.<\/p>\n

“I always felt with news it was too short,” she says.<\/p>\n

“I could never get the full story and go into depth like I wanted to. You end up having to cut it because your editor said it was too long. Longform was what I really wanted to do.”<\/p>\n

So she re-invested some of the money she made into her second film, The Keepers of the Pigs, billed as “the first ever documentary about guinea pigs”.<\/p>\n

“I wanted to do something very different to the refugee crisis,” Walia says.<\/p>\n

“I mean, I’ve always had guinea pigs and then I felt like no-one has ever really uncovered the history of the guinea pig.<\/p>\n

“There was a local rescue in Wollaton [in Nottingham]. I went and filmed with them, and that ended up taking me to Peru to find out the history, because that’s where they come from.”<\/p>\n

This film was picked up by Netflix, and again, shown in various cinemas and on Amazon Prime.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Walia’s second documentary was about guinea pigs, which are closely related to capybaras [Sharon Walia]<\/p>\n

Her third documentary is therefore a natural follow-on.<\/p>\n

“Capybaras are the world’s largest rodent, and people call them ‘guinea bigs’ because they are like giant guinea pigs,” Walia says.<\/p>\n

“I love rodents. I think rodents get a bad rep generally, especially rats. I think people sometimes think rodents are dirty, smelly pests, and I would like to change that.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Capybaras are semi-aquatic and live near bodies of water [Sharon Walia]<\/p>\n

Capybaras are native to South America, and Walia’s film begins in Brazil, where they roam free in the wild.<\/p>\n

Walia met a man who has befriended 300 capybaras, before travelling to Florida and meeting a woman who shares her home with two of the giant rodents.<\/p>\n

Walia also travelled to Japan, where capybaras are a symbol of peace and serenity.<\/p>\n

She also filmed capybaras much closer to home, at Wheelgate Park in Nottinghamshire, and met a capybara which escaped from a zoo in Telford<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“It took me to four continents, filming this film, so it’s been a bit of an adventure,” she says.<\/p>\n

\"Capybaras<\/p>\n

Izu Shaboten Zoo in Japan is famous for its capybaras, which bathe outside in hot spring water [Sharon Walia]<\/p>\n

The film will premiere at Broadway Cinema in Nottingham on Saturday, followed by further screenings across the UK.<\/p>\n

It is also being released in the US, with the premiere being at AMC Cinema at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando.<\/p>\n

“It’s such a big achievement for the film, it kind of shows how much people do love the capybara,” Walia says.<\/p>\n

So why does she think they have become so popular?<\/p>\n

“I think we’re seeking something to connect us more, and capybaras symbolise kindness, co-existence, they get along with pretty much everyone, sometimes you see them hitching a ride with an alligator in the wild, they’re so social,” she says.<\/p>\n

“So really with this film, I did set out to make a wildlife film and also focus on the viral aspect, but I ended up making a film about wellbeing, connection and slowing down.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Capybaras are herbivores and eat large amounts of grass, aquatic plants and bark [Bob Karp]<\/p>\n

Listen to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sounds<\/a> and follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook<\/a>, on X<\/a>, or on Instagram<\/a>. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk<\/a> or via WhatsApp<\/a> on 0808 100 2210.<\/p>\n

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