Celebrate 40 Years of Capybaras Soaking in Warm Waters at Izu Shaboten Zoo

The Sight of These Cute Furry Animals Relaxing Will Warm Your Heart

©Izu Shaboten Zoo

Izu Shaboten Zoo in Shizuoka Prefecture plays home to some of the cutest capybaras, an animal native to South America. During winter in the Izu region of Shizuoka Prefecture, the zoo holds its annual open-air bath experience for the capybaras ー this year’s edition will go from November 19, 2022 to April 2, 2023. During this period, visitors are able to watch them enjoy their warm waters at 1:30 PM on weekdays, and twice a day at 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM on weekends and public holidays.

©Izu Shaboten Zoo

This open-air bath experience of capybaras soaking themselves and relaxing in the warm waters started 40 years ago when a zookeeper who was cleaning the enclosure with warm water noticed that the capybaras were huddling together in the warm waters, and deduced that the capybaras enjoyed the warmth. Since then, the zoo has prepared warm baths for the capybaras every winter and early spring.

©Izu Shaboten Zoo

Aside from the standard open-air baths, both the adult and baby capybaras will soak in the warm waters that will be decorated with unique items varying from time to time, such as rose petals and yuzu - not only does the latter help with driving the cold away, these colourful ingredients usually make for Instagrammable pictures for the visitors. 

©Izu Shaboten Zoo

This year’s iteration marks 40 years of capybaras enjoying their warm waters. To commemorate this event, the zoo has also come up with a range of memorabilia for visitorsーfrom sweatshirts to towel sets and tote bags that depict these capybaras soaking in the outdoor bath, there’s quite a number of things for visitors to buy.

©Izu Shaboten Zoo

Besides the lovely capybaras, the zoo is home to around 140 species of animals ranging from squirrel monkeys to peacocks. There are also five cactus greenhouses that house 1500 cacti species from around the world, from Madagascar, Africa to Central and South America. Visitors are also able to choose from five different dining options within the zoo compound.