Capybaras are BACK for the Summer at Clearwater Marine Aquarium!

Don't worry, be capy! If you didn't get a chance to check out the adorable Capybara Chillout at Clearwater Marine Aquarium last year, you're in luck! The capybaras are back for another squeaky summer of fun.

Capybaras are still all the rage thanks to social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. But despite being adorable rodents (the largest rodents, to be exact), going viral has also helped raise awareness and familiarity with these adorable critters.

From May 24-July 20, 2025, you can see these lovable little rodents up on the fourth floor at Clearwater Marine Aquarium at the Capybara Chillout. Brian Braitsch, President and CEO of Amazing Animals, Inc., is introducing four 9-week-old capybaras (one girl and three boys) to guests at the aquarium, and you definitely don't want to miss out! We had the chance to get a sneak peek of the experience and talk to Brian about why he decided to bring the capybaras back to CMA.

What are Capybaras?

Capybaras are the world's largest rodents and are native to South America. “Their habitats can range from rainforests to dry forests to suburban. You'll see them in cities as well. They just need water. If there's water, you can find capybaras.”

Capybaras are also highly social species and are usually found in large groups. While Brian highly recommends not encountering one in the wild, when they're raised in a habitat with humans, they're happy to be petted and fed.

As we saw firsthand, they LOVE to eat and they're normal diet consists of grasses, aquatic plants, bark and fruit. Brian also brought up a less appetizing item they like to nosh on from time to time. “They will actually eat their poop and that does help them because of its nutrients and they do find it very nutritious to do that.”

They're about the size of a Guina pig when they're born but can get up to 170 pounds once full grown! Fun fact: baby capybaras are called pups.

Why Bring them Back to CMA?

Last year's capybara experience at CMA was so popular, that Brian wanted to give guests the chance to enjoy the experience all over again. “We were almost sold out the entire summer and we had the babies born again this year, and we figured it worked out so well last time, why not do it again? And it really helps us with Amazing Animals. We're in Central Florida and it's a little hard for some people to get to us to meet capybaras, so we bring the capybaras to them so people along the west coast can enjoy the experiences.”

“I've had people cry when they meet them, some people say they're their spirit animal. People are very emotionally connected to capybaras for some reason and people literally come from all over the world to visit ours.”

How You Can Interact with The Capybaras

The Capybara Chillout will be at Clearwater Marine Aquarium from May 24-July 20, 2025. Anyone is able to visit them but if you're looking to do a meet and greet (which we loved and highly recommend!), you can sign up at either 11:00, 12:30, 2:00, or 3:30 pm daily. The meet and greet experience is not included with general admission but is available for purchase separately.

During the meet and greet, we were brought it to the enclosure and went back and forth between sitting on the benches or on the floor. We were given a piece of lettuce one at a time so we were able to get special one-on-one time with the baby capys. But that's not the only interaction you'll have – the capybaras definitely lived up to their reputation of being social and once they warmed up to us and saw the food, they were wandering around in between bites and even took a cool dip in their water bucket.

Details and Info

We loved this experience and totally recommend it if you have a little one who loves capybaras or if you want to learn more about this adorable, unique species.

When: May 24-July 20, 2025

Address: 
249 Winward Passage
Clearwater, FL 33767

Hours: 
Regular hours are 10 am-5 pm with extended hours on select dates (see website for details). Meet and Greet experience is held at 11:00 am, 12:30 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:30 pm daily.

Cost: Visiting the capys is included with admission. The Meet and Greet experience can be purchased separately for $59.95 per person.

Parking is available on-site in the CMA parking garage.

To learn more and purchase tickets, visit cmaquarium.org.

Looking for more things to do around Tampa? Check out 20+ FUN Things to Do in Tampa Bay this Weekend.

All images courtesy of Brie Gorecki.