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The dangerous animals lurking on Rio’s golf courses

Challenges on the course are many and varied.

Challenges on the course are many and varied.

A slew of the world’s best golfers withdrew from the Rio Olympics – and perhaps it has more to do with the alarming array of exotic animals lurking in the shadows than fears over the Zika virus.

The competitors who have made their way to Brazil for golf’s Olympic return – after a 112-year absence – will be sharing the course with sloths, alligators, snakes, monkeys, owls and a jumbo-sized rodent that has everyone talking.

The capybara has been the star attraction at the Campo Olimpico de Golfe, built especially for these Games within the Marapendi Natural Reserve in the Barra da Tijuca zone of Rio, catching the eyes of golfers going through their practice rounds.

That’s hardly surprising, given capybaras are billed as the world’s biggest rodent at more than a metre long and weighing up to 65 kilos.

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Golfers have been captivated by the capybaras. Photo: Getty

It’s enough to prove a distraction on the backswing of even the most even-tempered pros.

But the South American native is cute – almost like a giant guinea pig – and while fast with a top speed of 35 kilometres per hour, luckily they are herbivores, preferring grass, aquatic plants and fruit to toned athletes.

Australian team captain Ian Baker-Finch has described the capybara as “a cross between a wombat and a large dog”, while Golf Channel analyst and former Kiwi pro Frank Nobilo reckons it resembles the spawn of a donkey and a pig.

USA’s Matt Kuchar continued the crossbreeding hypotheticals: “It’s an interesting combo – it has a miniature moosehead on it, but with a gigantic rat’s body.”

Teammate Rickie Fowler was treading more cautiously around the unfamiliar creatures.

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Ian Baker-Finch and Marcus Fraser inspect the course. Photo: Getty

“It’s a decent sized animal,” the highly rated American said Tuesday.

“I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with it, that’s for sure. If I was a capybara I’d love to live at the Olympic course.”

They present more of a problem to the people in charge of maintaining the course, rather than those playing on it, with the 30-to-40-strong capybara population taking a fancy to the specially imported grasses used on the fairways and greens.

“The biggest pains in the asses I’ve ever had to deal with on a golf course,” Neil Cleverly, the course’s superintendent, said.

“We’ve given them a gourmet meal compared to what they had before.”

Posing more of a threat to the golfers’ wellbeing are caiman, a mini-alligator, and Florida resident Fowler is certainly wary.

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An aerial shot of the golf course. Photo: Getty

“I’m definitely going to stay away from them,” he said.

“But it’s cool. They’ve done a great job with the golf course keeping some of the natural habitat.”

The coruja, a burrowing owl, are nocturnal but may poke their head out to see how the competitors fare getting out of the sand traps their burrows are situated on the edge of, while boa constrictors, mico monkeys and sloths round out the colourful cast of characters at the venue.

“I think everyone enjoys the fact they’ve done such a good job with the course and it’s in a natural environment,” Baker-Finch continued, perhaps boasting the nonchalance that comes from being from a country riddled with hazardous animals.

Scott Hend and Marcus Fraser will fly the flag for Australia, with top-ranked compatriots Jason Day and Adam Scott joining the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson on the list of superstar non-starters.

Swedish star Henrik Stenson is one of the event drawcards. Photo: Getty

Swedish star Henrik Stenson is one of the event draw cards. Photo: Getty

The men’s tournament begins Thursday, with recent British Open winner Henrik Stenson of Sweden, Spain’s Sergio Garcia, Britain’s Justin Rose, and Americans Fowler and Bubba Watson among the favourites.

Kiwi world No.1 Lydia Ko will be the overwhelming gold medal favourite when the women’s draw gets underway next Wednesday.

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