More than just their name gives relaxed 'Capy' a new legion of fans

NANNING — The air crackled with excitement one sunny afternoon at the Nanning Garden Expo Park in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. An eager crowd gathered around a semiaquatic enclosure, entranced by its serene star residents.

"I finally got to see a capybara in person," says one 10-year-old visitor, clutching a plush capybara in one hand and attempting to take a photo of the real-life creature with the other. "They are the absolute cutest, especially in their Chinese New Year outfits!"

Large rodents indigenous to parts of South America, capybaras, which are affectionately called "Capy" by die-hard Chinese fans, have brownish-yellow fur and tiny triangle-shaped ears that look like little spread wings.