Capyccino the Capybara
Capybaras are furry creatures native to South America, who came into vast internet popularity in 2024, for both their peaceful expressions and cute demeanours. Popular motifs included balancing an orange on their heads, and motivational quotations pasted over their photos. For the 2024-25 ASU executive team, their undeniable allure brought forth the idea of the installation of an ASU-exclusive mascot…forever.
The capybara’s genus name, Hydrochoerus, is, in part, deprived from the Greek word for pig or hog: χοῖρος (choiros). Classified as rodents, capybaras also hold considerable resemblance to the guinea pig. Sure, they’re no boar. But capybaras are the pig of choice for the Arts undergraduate students in the form of the official Arts Student Union mascot, Capyccino!
Do they really fit in a mug? No, capybaras are actually the largest rodent in the world! But our Capyccino is a special capybara, tinted orange to reflect the Faculty of Arts and named after a favoured coffee, not unlike those available at the ASU’s own tuck shop. As a species, capybara can be revered for their dedication to community and to work toward a more common goal. They are also known to work flawlessly with the other animals within their ecosystems, as gentle, peaceful herbivorous creatures that spend most of their days in biomes that go from as dry as Savannah to as wet as the swamp.
As such, Capyccino represents the dedication of the Arts Student Union in bettering the lives of Arts students, whether that be through their advocacy, through their events or the cultivation of community. Like his cousins, he symbolizes the bond between the varying programs and majors within the Arts faculty and the many different landscapes that the Arts undergraduate students traverse throughout their degrees.
Like many students, capybaras are most active in either the morning or the evening, or even late nights, when they feel threatened by external stressors. Ever stay up late to make a deadline or study for a midterm? Capy gets it!
Capyccino the Capybara was born in the Fall of 2024. In addition to his cute mug (wink), he brings forth the renewal of the Arts Student Union as a force for student voices following a lull during the Covid-19 Pandemic