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Caplin Rous, arguably the most famous real-life giant rodent, has died. He was three-and-a-half years old.



Caplin Rous is a capybara, the biggest hamster in the world . Related to the guinea pig, the capybara is the largest species of rodent. They're extremely rare as pets, only 30 or so are sold in the U.S. each year. Though they're native to South America, Caplin was born in Texas and lives in the town of Buda with Melanie Typaldos, who never expected this animal to take over her life quite the way he has.



Adult capybaras may grow to 130 centimetres (4.3 ft) in length, and weigh up to 65 kg (140 lb). The top recorded weight is 105.4 kg (232 lbs). And this one named Caplin Rous (pronounced rose) is quite famous in the Internet. "Normally when people see him they have no idea what he is...but they just think he's really cute," says Typaldos.



Caplin weighed just three pounds when Typaldos first got him at the age of 11 days old. Two and a half years later he now tips the scales at more than 100 pounds!Caplin enjoys taking long walks with his family Capybaras are semi-aquatic animals and Caplin enjoys swimming in his backyard pool more than anything. Instead of purring like a house cat, Caplin makes tiny squeaks when he is happy.

Label: hamster, world record