Eight people arrested in Brazil for ‘brutal’ attack on capybara

A capybara swims in the Pinheiros River in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. Affected by domestic sewage and solid wastes discharges for years, Sao Paulo's state government is again trying to clean the Pinheiros River, considered one of the most polluted in Brazil. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Warning: Graphic Content.

Rio de Janeiro police said Monday they had arrested eight people for brutally beating a capybara -- the world’s largest rodent whose chill demeanor has inspired countless memes online in recent years.

Resembling a giant, gentle guinea pig, the shaggy, light brown capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is often seen roaming in the Brazilian city, particularly near streams and lagoons.

In an incident filmed by security cameras before dawn on Saturday, a group of attackers beat the capybara with sticks and iron bars in the working-class neighborhood of Ilha do Governador.

“This is a brutal crime that shocks society,” said Felipe Santoro, the police commissioner in charge of the investigation, was quoted as saying by the O Globo daily newspaper.

“It is an act of extreme cruelty toward a creature that posed absolutely no threat...yet was deliberately attacked nonetheless,” he added.

The attackers -- including two minors -- were identified through CCTV footage and arrested on Saturday, police said in a statement.

The capybara, a 65-kilogram (143-pound) male, was taken to the Wildlife Care Center (CRAS) at the private Estacio University in southwestern Rio.

“We have been treating Rio’s wildlife here for 22 years, and I have never before received a capybara subjected to such extreme aggression,” veterinarian and head of CRAS Jeferson Pires told AFP on Monday.

He said the creature was doing better, but was “suffering from head trauma, swelling with internal bleeding around his left eye, and multiple injuries to his back.”

In recent years the semi-aquatic capybara -- native to South America -- has gained a devoted following online, and its image is increasingly used on toys, clothing and home decor items.

It is often used in posts about being zen and going with the flow.

One popular meme is “Comrade Capybara” -- depicting the animal as a communist revolutionary -- inspired by the 2021 “invasion” by capybaras of a luxury gated estate in Argentina that was built on a wetland that had been their natural habitat.

In early January, the death of a stray dog after it was beaten to death by teenagers sparked a massive wave of outrage in Brazil, even prompting a reaction from First Lady Rosangela “Janja” da Silva.