‘It was bonkers’: Samba the runaway capybara inspires a wild rodent hunt | Zoos

B.Exactly 24 hours after nine-month-old capybaras Samba and Tango were brought to Marwell Zoo, near Winchester, they had passed through a hole in their temporary enclosure. The brothers were transferred from Jimmy’s farm and wildlife park in Suffolk to Hampshire on March 16 after being outshined by other capybaras.

Tango was quickly found, but her sister Samba remained at large, and the mission to find her attracted national and international attention. international scope.

Laura Read, general manager of Marwell zoo, said: “We deployed search teams, including the use of specialist canine units and thermal drones used to track his scent.” So far, Samba has reportedly been spotted in a pub beer garden and enjoying himself by the river.

Emma Smith, manager of the Ship Inn in Owslebury, about 2 miles from the zoo, said search dogs and drones showed up when the capybara was spotted at the bar two days after its escape.

“It was really crazy,” Smith said. “It’s just a small village, you know?”

Capybaras are native to South America and are very well adapted to evading capture. They are fast and have a maximum operating speed of 22mph. They are also excellent swimmers, with webbed feet and the ability to hold their breath for up to five minutes.

Capybaras are technically the world’s largest rodent species, and at the upper end of the spectrum they can grow up to 1.5 meters long and weigh up to 66 kg. But Samba is just a cub, which makes him difficult to spot.

D., a member of the engineering department at the University of Southampton, who used thermal imaging drones to search for Samba. Mark Pickering found the process challenging.

“The technology is similar to what emergency services commonly use in search and rescue, but this capybara is a fairly small animal in a large habitat,” he said.

With no natural predators in the UK, the urgency of Samba’s escape is not because he is in grave danger, but because the zoo is concerned about the separation of two sibling cubs. “Capibaras are social animals and our focus is on retrieving Samba safely and reuniting him with his sister Tango at Marwell zoo,” Read said.

Claudie Paddick filmed Samba taking a dip in the River Itchen while walking his dogs Growler and Patsy near his home last Sunday. In the video, Samba is seen sunbathing on the riverbank in Twyford. Then Growler, a black labrador, barks curiously. The capybara immediately dives into the water and never surfaces again.

“This was crazy,” said Paddick, the family lawyer. “I didn’t even know what a capybara was.” He showed the video to neighbors Lindsay and Luke, who immediately recognized it as the missing animal from the zoo.

“Luke came running to catch one of the fishing nets,” he said. Volunteers soon showed up to help search the area; Among them was Read, the zoo’s general manager, who spotted Samba in the water. Paddick was trying to throw the capybara out with a net in his hand.

Eliza Holland heard about Samba from relatives who lived nearby and drove straight to Winchester on Friday hoping to catch a glimpse of the animal and help with the search. Without drones in his toolbox, he walks along the Itchen River and tries to imagine what Samba was thinking to figure out where he was going.

“We’ve already seen Samba sunbathing. So I think she’s a woman with free time,” Holland said. Even though he didn’t see the capybara, he enjoyed exchanging ideas with passersby.

“You instantly form a connection with people walking along the river and say, ‘Have you seen a capybara here? “They are very inviting,” you say.

Even though the roads are cold for now, excitement is increasing on the internet. AI-generated images flooded local Facebook groups, with Samba appearing in various local spots. Photos of Samba getting a shave at the hairdresser, sipping a pint at the Cricketer’s Arms or delivering pizza.

As of Friday afternoon, no new information had emerged about Samba’s whereabouts, but search teams reported they were closing in.

If you see Samba please do Do not reveal its location immediately. Instead, contact the zoo using its dedicated 24-hour helpline on 07436 167401.