Cinnamon the fugitive capybara reunited with family after week on the run
23 September 2024, 20:28 | Updated: 23 September 2024, 20:40
A runaway capybara which escaped a Shropshire zoo has been captured and returned to her family.
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After nearly a week at large, Cinnamon the capybara was returned safe and well to Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Telford and is recovering after her adventure.
The one-year-old capybara - a native South American rodent - was found living in a field next to the zoo by a search team on Tuesday night and was eventually captured on Friday.
Hoo Zoo's owner Will Dorrell, who said Cinnamon celebrated her first birthday while on the run, added: “It’s quite possible that she just popped down to the pub and had a week-long hangover.”
He said Cinnamon should be on display again next week as she acclimatises back to captivity alongside her twin brother, Churro.
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Addressing her online fame, Dorrell told the BBC: "I don’t think she’s entirely aware of all the fuss she’s made to be honest, but she’s back settled in now back with her parents and her brother."
It took "over a dozen experts" in a pond within the zoo’s woodland conservation area to wrangle the capybara and bring her home.
A video shared by the zoo on social media showed the fugitive rodent being hauled from the water in a metal cage.
Expert keepers will continue to monitor her around the clock to ensure a “seamless transition back to family life”, the zoo said.
Capybaras, which can grow to be 4.6ft long and up to 2ft high, are semi-aquatic and adapted for life in water.
Last Thursday the zoo said attempts to capture Cinnamon had been paused so she did not become stressed.
Following her capture, Dorrell previously said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have Cinnamon back at the zoo. We’ve been astounded at the public reaction to Cinnamon’s escape and are so grateful to everybody who has helped to return her safely to the zoo
“Cinnamon will be spending some time with her brother in an off-show enclosure this weekend, but all being well we hope that Cinnamon will return to her usual paddock with the rest of her family next week."
Keepers were working through the night on Wednesday to try to catch her, but said the area where she was living was “extremely dense” with “almost impenetrable” undergrowth.
She was spotted by a thermal drone within five metres of the place she was seen on Tuesday night, and keepers found fresh tracks and capybara poo.
“I know that there will be lots of people who will be very excited to see her, but nobody more so than her own mum and dad,” Dorrell added.
