X
    Categories: news

Olympics Golf Course Home To Wildlife Like Capybaras And Crocodiles

Rio’s Olympic Golf Course Overrun with Capybaras and Crocodiles Days Ahead of Summer Games

We all know the city of Rio de Janeiro is ill-prepared for the Summer Olympics this week.

From human remains on its beaches, to contaminated water full of raw sewage, to sketchy police that kidnap travelers like something out of a Liam Neeson movie — the troubled country won’t be the most glamorous host of the games in recent years.

And it looks like the city’s olympic golf course is no exception, because the green is overrun with all kinds of wildlife, reports the PEOPLE.

Some of the world’s top golfers have already tapped out of this year’s games, but the competing athletes still have a lot to worry about on the course — including capybaras, mini crocodiles, monkeys, and boa constrictors!

The Barra da Tijuca-located course that will host olympic golf next Thursday rests in an upscale neighborhood sitting on the edge of the Marapendi nature reserve.

The course was constructed last year despite protests from environmentalists who argued carving out a chunk of the reserve would have a devastating impact to the rare butterflies, pines, and other rare species that call the reserve home.

“They chew down on the grass at night,” Mark Johnson, director of international agronomy for the PGA Tour told the National Post. “There are about 30-40 of them inside the course perimeter, but they live here and we play golf here, we co-exist.”

Because of the location, the course has become a new playground of Brazilian wildlife, like the world’s largest rodent, the capybara, which can weigh up to 150 pounds!

Mark Johnson, director of international agronomy for the PGA Tour told theNational Post:

“They chew down on the grass at night. There are about 30-40 of them inside the course perimeter, but they live here and we play golf here, we co-exist.”

These harmless looking rat-dinosaurs aren’t the only critters golfers will have to watch out for.

In addition to the three-toed sloths, monkeys, snakes, and owls, the course is also home to caimans — small crocodiles that can grow up to five feet in length — which will be moved out of the way during the match by a team of assembled biologists.

At least the golfers don’t need to make a trip to any zoos to see Brazil’s indigenous wildlife!

R. Bora: