🐹 Capybara report template
Three versions, one page each. Print the one for your child’s grade. The facts come from the capybara page, every number with its source.
Grades 1–2
My report: the capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris · Grades 1–2
| Length | 3.9 ft (1.2 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 24 in (61 cm) |
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 12 years |
Read about it
Capybaras are the biggest rodents. They love to swim. Birds sometimes sit on their backs!
It lives in:
It eats:
The coolest thing I learned:
Where my facts came from
- US Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: capybara profile, nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=2587, checked 2026-10-30
Grades 3–4
My report: the capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3.9 ft (1.2 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 24 in (61 cm) |
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 12 years |
Read about it
A capybara is a rodent, a cousin of guinea pigs and rats, but much bigger. Its eyes, ears and nose sit high on its head, so it can keep them above the water while the rest of it floats. Its feet are partly webbed, which helps it paddle.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: capybara profile, nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=2587, checked 2026-10-30
Grades 5–6
My report: the capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris · Grades 5–6
| Length | 3.9 ft (1.2 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 24 in (61 cm) |
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 12 years |
Read about it
Capybaras live in groups near water and spend the day eating grass and water plants, then resting in the shade or in the water. If something scary comes near, they dive in and can stay under for quite a while. Like all rodents, they have front teeth that never stop growing, and chewing tough grass wears them down. Many other animals share their wetlands, from birds to turtles, and jaguars and anacondas hunt capybaras, so staying near the water is their best escape.
Habitat and range: where on Earth, and what the place is like:
Diet: what it eats, and what might eat it:
Adaptations: two ways its body or habits help it survive:
Is it in danger? Why or why not?:
Compare it with another animal you know:
Bibliography: write each source below as site, page title, date checked:
Where my facts came from
- US Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: capybara profile, nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=2587, checked 2026-10-30