Baby Capybara Still Missing Weeks After Escaping Zoo — And Locals Spotted Her Sunbathing
A 9-month-old capybara named Samba escaped from Marwell Zoo in southern England in March and remains on the loose more than two weeks later, prompting a search effort involving drones, thermal imaging technology, search dogs and a dedicated 24/7 public hotline.
Samba and her sister, Tango, arrived at Marwell Zoo on a Monday in March from Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park in Ipswich. Both 9-month-old females were placed in a temporary holding area for standard new animal checks. By the next day, both had escaped. Tango was found hiding in bushes inside the zoo and safely returned. Samba bolted and has not been recovered.
Samba Was Spotted Sunbathing Before Diving Into a River
The zoo confirmed the escape in a March 19 press release, noting that a member of the public from Owslebury — just over a mile from Marwell — had reported seeing Samba on the side of the road near The Ship Inn pub.
The most dramatic sighting came when local resident Claudie Paddick filmed the capybara while walking her dogs, Growler and Patsy, near her house last Sunday along the River Itchen. In the video, Samba is seen sunbathing on the riverbank in Twyford.
Then Growler, a black labrador, barked. Samba immediately dove into the water and did not resurface.
“It was bonkers,” Paddick said, per The Guardian.. “I didn’t even know what a capybara was.”
Paddick showed the footage to two of her neighbors, Lindsay and Luke, who recognized the animal as the zoo’s missing escapee. “Luke came running down with one of his fishing nets to try and catch it,” Paddick said.
Laura Read, the chief executive of Marwell Zoo, arrived on scene and spotted Samba in the water. A zoo team member borrowed Paddick’s paddleboard and used a net to try to flush the capybara out.
Samba evaded them all.
Thermal imaging Drones Were Deployed in the Search for Samba
The search has escalated well beyond typical missing-animal protocols. Dr. Mark Pickering, a member of the University of Southampton’s engineering department, has been using thermal imaging drones — the same technology commonly used in search and rescue by emergency services.
“The technology is similar to what’s commonly used in search and rescue by emergency services, but this capybara is quite a small animal, in a large habitat,” Pickering said.
The zoo’s specialist dog unit has been tracking scent trails, and drone searches have been conducted across the area where Samba has been spotted.
Marwell Zoo Says Samba Needs Her Sister
With no natural predators in the U.K., Samba faces limited immediate danger. The primary concern is her separation from Tango.
“Capybaras are social animals and our focus is on retrieving Samba safely and reuniting her with her sister Tango back at Marwell Zoo,” Read said.
The zoo described capybaras in their press release as “lovely, intelligent animals, with a taste for adventure” who “are gentle and do not pose any risk to people, pets or wildlife.” They urged locals to check gardens, ponds, rivers and other water environments, noting that Samba is more likely to travel at night.
This Case Resembles a Familiar Pattern From 30 Years Ago
Read pointed to a striking detail: Samba’s escape mirrors an incident 30 years ago when two escaped capybaras were found along the same stretch of water at the center of the current search, per BBC. That recovery took two months.
“We will always follow up on any public sighting. We still have that public number available. She won’t evade everybody forever,” Read said.
“We’re not giving up,” she added. “We’re about to head into the fishing season, so along that stretch of the Itchen there’s a lot of fishing activity from April onwards, so there will be more eyes on the ground.”
Anyone who spots Samba can call the dedicated 24/7 hotline at 07436 167401. The zoo asks that no one approach her directly — only her keepers should make contact.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
