Caplin Rous - Famous Giant Hamster

Well, it looks like a giant hamster, but it’s actually a capybara, the largest rodent on the planet, and it makes a great pet,apparently. Melanie Typaldos, from Buda, Texas first came into contact with a capybara on a trip in Venezuela. Her daughter Coral fell in love with them the moment she got to pick one up and hold it in her arms. The moment they returned home, Melanie began searching for a capybara as a pet. She found 11-day-old Caplin Rous on a rare animal farm in Texas and it instantly became a member of their family. You’re probably wondering what the deal is about the ‘Rous’ part of this capybara’s name, and well you should. ROUS stands for Rodent Of Unusual Size, and it’s apparently pronounced ‘rose’. Talking about Caplin, owner Melanie Typaldos says it has the most adorable habits of waking her up in the morning. She usually makes a gentle ‘eep’ sound and gradually ‘raises’ her voice until she reaches her goal. Other times the now two-and-a-half year old capybara climbs up to her pillow and taps her on the face until she wakes up. He loves taking warm baths and swimming in the pool, when the weather allows it, and he accompanies the whole family on outings. He also has his own blog, a MySpace and Twitter account (with 2,900 followers). Caplin Rous is definitely the world’s most famous Capybara.