The Long Island Game Farm is celebrating the arrival of five capybara babies born early Saturday morning.
The quintuplets are the offspring of capybara mom Lily and dad Dilly, residents of the Manorville farm since May 2024. The pair came from a Long Island farm family that kept them as pets, according to game farm president Melinda Novak.
“We’re really excited,” Novak said gleefully Saturday afternoon. “It’s really neat to come into work and have all of these babies.”
Native to South America, capybaras are the world’s largest rodent species and can weigh more than 100 pounds, according to the World Wildlife Fund. They are semi-aquatic and eat mostly plants and vegetables, though they are known to also snack on their own feces.
Capybaras give birth after a three- to four-month gestation period. Babies are fully mobile and can see after birth.
“They come out perfect with teeth and hair,” Novak said. The pups, already on view, are still nursing from mom but will be nibbling grass and lettuce in about a week.
Four are healthy and alert, but Novak said farm staff and veterinarians are closely monitoring a fifth pup who isn’t doing well.
“We’re going to be supplementing the feeding because we’re not seeing that one eating, and giving it vitamins,” she said. “We hope this one makes it through.”
Lily, a first time mom, is about 2½ years old and in good spirits, Novak said.
The pups are expected to live at the game farm for at least a year before new homes are found for them. Credit: Tom Lambui
The hours-old pups were settling in and exploring their new habitat Saturday. Mostly, they nuzzled and nursed and closely shadowed mom’s every footstep.
“They’re like the Keystone Kops, running this way and that, and learning to follow their mom,” Novak said.
The genders of the pups may not be known for months, Novak said, because they don’t show visible signs of their sex until reaching maturity.
Eventually, the game farm plans to find new homes for some of the babies, though that’s not likely to happen for at least a year. The game farm has relationships with similar facilities across the country and may trade some of the capybaras, according to Novak.
In the meantime, visitors can catch a glimpse of the pups in their exhibit, which underwent a $30,000 renovation over the summer that included a newly insulated house, shaded area and new pond and waterfall. Farm admission ranges from $19.95 for children to $26.95 for adults, and toddlers under 2 are free.