Capy Learning Corner
Animal Encyclopedia
Honest, verified facts about the animals of our world: where they come from, how they live, why they matter, and whether they belong in anyone's living room. Every entry ends with a Capy Quiz question. Get them all right across the encyclopedia and consider yourself an honorary Capy Scholar.
Green dot means you can meet this species at our Fort Lauderdale cafe, and these are just some of the ambassador family. Which animals join a given session varies, because every animal participates on its own terms, and new faces join us over time.
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Answer the quiz on every animal page to collect all 24 Capy Scholar points. Collect them all and print your official certificate, then come meet the animals you studied.
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Capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
Capybaras can hold their breath underwater for several minutes and sleep in the water with just their nose above the...
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Fennec Fox
Vulpes zerda
Those famous ears are radiators. They shed body heat to keep the fox cool and can hear prey moving under the sand.
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Virginia Opossum
Didelphis virginiana
An opossum's body temperature is low enough that rabies almost never takes hold in them.
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Nine Banded Armadillo
Dasypus novemcinctus
Nine banded armadillos almost always give birth to identical quadruplets from a single fertilized egg.
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Patagonian Mara
Dolichotis patagonum
A mara can bounce on all fours like a pogo stick, a move called stotting, and sprint at highway merge speeds in...
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Ferret
Mustela furo
A group of ferrets is called a business.
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Rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus (domestic)
A rabbit's field of vision is nearly 360 degrees, with a small blind spot right in front of its nose.
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Chicken
Gallus gallus domesticus
Chickens dream. They experience REM sleep like we do.
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Ball Python
Python regius
A ball python can go weeks between meals and be perfectly healthy.
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Tortoise
Family Testudinidae
A tortoise's shell is fused to its spine and ribs. It is skeleton, not armor plating, and it has feeling.
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Wallaby
Genus Notamacropus and relatives
A newborn wallaby is about the size of a jellybean and finishes developing inside the pouch.
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Coati
Genus Nasua
A coati's snout is double jointed and can rotate to probe crevices from any angle.
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More From the Animal Kingdom
Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Raccoons can remember the solutions to puzzles for years.
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Red Fox
Vulpes vulpes
A red fox's tail, the brush, is a balance pole, a blanket, and a signal flag in one.
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Ring Tailed Lemur
Lemur catta
Lemur troops are matriarchies; the top female eats first and settles disputes.
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Otter
Subfamily Lutrinae
Otter fur is the densest of any animal, up to a million hairs per square inch in sea otters.
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Porcupine
Families Erethizontidae and Hystricidae
Porcupine quills carry a mild antibiotic coating, likely protection for the porcupine against its own accidental pokes.
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Bearded Dragon
Pogona vitticeps
Bearded dragons sleep standing up against surfaces sometimes, and it is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds.
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Blue Tongued Skink
Genus Tiliqua
The tongue reflects ultraviolet light, making it even more startling to predators than to us.
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Sugar Glider
Petaurus breviceps
A sugar glider can glide half a football field between trees, steering with its tail.
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Guinea Pig
Cavia porcellus
Guinea pigs must get vitamin C from food, one of very few mammals sharing that trait with humans.
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Chinchilla
Chinchilla lanigera
Chinchilla fur is so dense, dozens of hairs share a single follicle, that parasites cannot live in it.
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Sloth
Suborder Folivora
Sloths move so little that algae farms itself in their fur.
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Hedgehog
Atelerix albiventris (African pygmy)
A hedgehog's roll up is powered by one big circular muscle, like closing a drawstring bag from inside.
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Why do these animals live in sanctuary care at all? Read Why Animal Ambassadors Matter, or bring your questions to a session. Our guides love this stuff.
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