A closeup of Garibaldi Rous’ nose. I love the tiny hairs that grow on the top of his nose. They still feel like little twigs but they’re pretty cute. The only hairs on him that are soft are the ones on the front of his nose, not shown in this photo.

Why did I post a photo of a broom? Because it’s not a broom! This is a close up of what Garibaldi Rous’ hair looks like. It is very coarse. And each hair has it’s own color ranging from a nice red-brown to blond. Capybaras turn more blond as they get their long, adult hair. Gari is being a bit slow about this or maybe he’s going to end up redder than your average capybara.

This is Garibaldi Rous at 11 months old, just after we got him. Young capybaras have shorter, redder hair than adults.

1.5-year-old Garibaldi Rous is learning to walk on a leash and that is only useful if we actually go places. Unfortunately, he is scared of the wide world. One way a capybara displays fear is through poofing up their hair. Confusingly, this is the same thing they do when they are happy. Notice the spiky capybara shadow.

Garibaldi is 17 months old now and is starting to get his adult fur. Young capybara have short, red fur all over their bodies. Older capys keep the short, red stuff on their heads but their necks and bodies get much longer, whiter fur, the longest hairs being six to eight inches long. A funny thing about Gari is that he seems to be developing a white patch right on the top of his head. I haven’t seen another capybara with a spot like that. I wonder if he is just going prematurely gray.