BOOK REVIEW Capybaras: Behavior, Ecology, and Management CAPYBARAS: A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST RODENT. By Rexford D. Lord. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2009. 159 pp., $50.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8018-9163-2. Robert M. Timm Published online: 11 November 2009 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009 Capybaras, the largest extant rodents, are the subject of Rexford Lord’ s recent treatise, which is a combination of topics on the ecology and management of this species based on his 15 years of observations of living populations, including a ten-year intensive study on a Venezuelan ranch, and an extensive literature review. Lord, now retired from many years with the Pan American Health Organization, is a classically trained wildlife biologist and this work reflects his interest and strength in management and conservation biology. Lord has been a pioneer of health and management issues regarding wild mammals and their interface with domestic livestock, especially in South America. He was among the first to document the transport of arboviruses by migratory birds. Much of his work has had a practical and management focus and combines innovative research with a knowledge of wildlife, domestic animals, and diseases. His research is nicely exemplified by his development of the strategy of eliminating vampire bats through topical application of anticoagulants, to help control epizootics of rabies in that species. Two extant species of capybaras are currently recognized— Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris and H. isthmius. This book focuses exclusively on H. hydrochaeris, the largest and most widely distributed of the two species, which is found across the northern and eastern two-thirds of South America from the coastal Guyanas to Uruguay and northern Argentina. The lesser capybara, H. isthmius, is restricted to central and eastern Panama and northern Colombia and Venezuela. As the common name implies, it is a somewhat smaller animal and little is known of its biology. The text is written in a user-friendly manner with general introductory sentences preceding the detailed topics. Chapters include general characteristics; anatomy and physiology; natural history, ecology, and behavior; diseases, parasites, and hazards; censuses and population trends; conservation and management; and a case history of Lord’ s ten-year population study in Venezuela. There are three appendices; the first two summarize his census methods and data, reporting a range of 0.75–5.532 animals per hectare in good habitat. The third appendix is a synopsis of the biology presented in the book. The index is quite useable. Throughout, the text includes Lord’ s firsthand observa- tions and a review of the published literature. The R. M. Timm (*) Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence KS 66045-7561, USA e-mail: btimm@ku.edu J Mammal Evol (2010) 17:217–219 DOI 10.1007/s10914-009-9124-z