Animal lovers can cuddle with giant rodents at Florida capybara cafe

Animal lovers now person a spot to bent retired with the “it” animals of nan infinitesimal — large furry rodents.

In nan backmost of a existent property agency building successful what is known arsenic America’s oldest city, capybaras are crawling into visitors’ laps, munching connected maize connected nan cob, and hunting for scratches from humans astatine The Capybara Cafe successful St. Augustine, Florida.

“You springiness them tons of scratches and love,” said Stephanie Angel, who opened The Capybara Cafe precocious past year. “A batch of times they’ll climb connected your thigh because they’re very utilized to people, and if you’re really bully astatine giving scratches, they’ll really autumn over. So that’s ever our extremity to get them truthful comfortable that they autumn over.”

Since opening its doors successful October successful downtown St. Augustine, adjacent nan Flagler College campus, hundreds of animal lovers person visited nan tract to springiness nan capybaras caput scratches. Reservations are booked respective months successful beforehand by patrons for illustration Leah Macri, who precocious visited nan northeast Florida location from Orlando pinch her daughter.

“Their fur benignant of feels for illustration straw a bit,” Macri said.

After entering a reception area pinch couches and an unfastened pen of babe chicks, visitors are escorted into a smaller room successful groups of a half twelve aliases truthful people. Blankets are placed complete their laps, and 3 capybaras are brought into nan room.

Other animals for illustration a skunk, wallaby, and armadillo are besides introduced into nan room, and they crawl among nan humans and into their laps. The costs is $49 per personification for a half-hour brushwood and $99 for an hour-long brushwood that involves nan different animals.

Even though she had travel for nan capybaras, Macri enjoyed holding nan armadillo nan most.

“He was nan cuddly, for illustration nan best. He was conscionable nan softest,” she said. “He was conscionable very sweet.”

The capybara — a semi-aquatic South American relative of nan guinea pig — is nan latest successful a agelong statement of “it” animals to get nan prima curen successful nan United States.

During past year’s vacation shopping season, shoppers could find capybara slippers, purses, robes, and bath bombs. Axolotls, owls, hedgehogs, foxes, and sloths person besides had caller turns successful nan spotlight.

The web-footed capybaras tin turn to much than 4 feet agelong and measurement good northbound of 100 pounds.

Several zoos and wildlife parks crossed nan U.S. connection encounters pinch capybaras, but Angel said nary of them supply nan intimacy pinch nan animals that visitors get astatine nan Capybara Cafe.

Angel said she plans to unfastened different capybara cafe crossed nan authorities successful St. Petersburg, Florida, soon.

The St. Augustine location doesn’t waste java aliases basking food, for illustration a cafe implied successful its name, but it does waste capybara-themed T-shirts, java mugs, and stuffed animals.

The cafe was created to financially support nan Hastings, Florida-based nonprofit Noah’s Ark Sanctuary Inc., an animal refuge, Angel said.

Chris Cooper, who visited nan Capybara Cafe pinch his wife, was amazed astatine really unsmooth and coarse nan capybaras’ hairsbreadth was.

“And I wasn’t expecting really affectionate they were,” said Cooper, who drove up 157 miles from Weeki Wachee to spot nan critters. “They enjoyed nan hands-on rubs.”