By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A giant South
American rodent weighing at least 100 pounds (45 kgs) was
spotted at a waste-water treatment facility in California
recently before disappearing in the brush, according to a
wildlife official. The animal, which was identified as a
capybara, is the world's largest rodent and feeds on vegetation.
"If you think a giant guinea pig is cute, then you probably
would like it," said Todd Tognazzini, of the California
Department of Fish and Game. The capybara is believed to be an
escaped pet, Tognazzini said. It was last seen about two weeks
ago at a waste-water treatment facility in Paso Robles, 175
miles northwest of Los Angeles, he said. An employee at the
plant took photos of the animal as it crawled out of a pond. The
capybara's South American habitat ranges from Panama to
northeast Argentina, east of the Andes, according to a
description on the website of the San Francisco Zoo. The animal
spotted near the Salinas River and a hot spring, a watery
habitat th