9-Month-Old Capybara On Run For More Than A Week After Escaping England Zoo

A massive search is underway after a nine-month-old capybara named Samba escaped from Marwell Zoo near Winchester, a day after arriving from Suffolk. The giant rodent has been on the run for more than a week, with search teams now deploying humane traps to bring her home, according to a BBC report.

Samba arrived at the zoo alongside her companion, Tango from Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park in Ipswich. They were both being held in a temporary enclosure while undergoing standard health checks. During this period, keepers realised that the new capybaras had escaped the enclosure.

"On Tuesday, we discovered that Samba and Tango had escaped from this holding home. Tango didn't stray too far, hiding in bushes in the zoo, and is now safely returned," the zoo said in a statement.

Samba, however, was the more adventurous of the pair, prompting the zoo authorities to deploy specialist teams for the search operation. The zoo initially received a tip from a member of the public who claimed to have spotted Samba near a roadside by a local pub in Owslebury, just over two kilometres from the zoo.

"This has led us to a reduced search area, not far from where she was originally sighted, which has meant we could better deploy thermal drones to try and locate her," the zoo stated.

"So far we have been unsuccessful in finding her, but as the dogs have picked up her scent on both days, we are keeping everything crossed that we can pinpoint her location as soon as possible."

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Marwell Zoo stated that as of the last update, there had been three confirmed sightings, backed by photo and video evidence, all within a similar area, indicating that the capybara was hiding somewhere close.

Often called "giant guinea pigs," capybaras are the world's largest rodents, reaching lengths of up to 1.5 meters. These social creatures live in small herds across South America's grasslands, tropical forests, and wetlands.

They are master swimmers, and their bodies are perfectly adapted for an aquatic lifestyle, featuring webbed feet and a clever facial layout: their eyes, ears, and nostrils sit high on their heads. This allows them to stay almost entirely submerged, staying hidden from predators while barely breaking the surface.