4 capybara pups born at Long Island Game Farm in Manorville

Corks are popping on champagne bottles at the Long Island Game Farm Wildlife Park in Manorville as their in-house capybara parents, Lily and Dilly, welcomed in a litter of four pups on Sept. 18.

"This is our second birth. These two had five puppies last year," farm president Melinda Novak says. "Lily went into labor on Friday and had her first after we closed. Our caretaker heard puppy noises and called me. By the time I arrived, there were three and in the morning, there were four."

The game farm, which is spread across 26 acres, has been in Novak’s family for 56 years. Surprisingly, they haven’t had capybaras for many decades, but the animal has received a major boost on social media.

"It’s kind of shocking how popular they are," Novak says. "They are the largest living rodent in the world."

Capybaras are semi-aquatic, with webbing on their feet, and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes. They can grow 3 to 4 feet long and weigh between 77 and 150 pounds. Their diet consists of grass and greens as well as oranges, sweet potatoes, zucchini and grains, which they chew with two big top teeth and two large bottom teeth.

"They are very sweet and soulful," Novak says. "All they care about is eating and receiving affection."

Attendees can see the capybaras in their habitat at the game farm when they are on display. A special Encounter Ticket ($100) allows guests to have a close-up meet and greet with them.

"You go in with an education staffer who teaches you how to feed them lettuce," Novak says. "You can also pet them and take pictures."

Additionally, the game farm offers capybara yoga classes ($125) several times a year.

"The capybaras climb on the mats hoping to get petted by people. Many do it for the photo op," Novak says. "The classes fill up fast. People sign up for our capybara mailing list, where they can get alerted when there’s another class available."

The public can soon help name the babies by submitting suggestions on the game farm's Instagram and Facebook pages. A panel of zoo staff will review the submissions and vote on winning names. The winners will be awarded a prize of a meet-and-greet with the pups.

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.