Zoo Is Not Giving Up Hope Weeks After Capybara Escapes, Carrying Out ‘Extensive Searches’
This escaped capybara has been outsmarting an entire zoo search team for weeks, but they hope they are closing in on her.
A 9-month-old capybara named Samba escaped from England’s Marwell Zoo on March 17 — and despite thermal drones, specialist dog units and camera traps, she’s still out there living her best life along a river in southern England. The internet, predictably, cannot get enough, and everyone has been patiently waiting for a new update.
Marwell Zoo Is Determined to Bring Samba Home
The zoo has thrown everything it has at finding Samba, and the effort sounds like something pulled from a nature documentary. A spokesperson for Marwell Zoo said in a new statement on March 31, per Hampshire Chronicle: “We are continuing to do everything we can to bring Samba home safely.”
“This includes deploying specialist dog units to track her scent using bedding from both Samba and Tango, using thermal drones to identify her amongst the vegetation and placing camera traps along the waterways where we believe she may be,” the spokesperson said.
None of it has worked. The zoo acknowledged as much.
“Our teams continue to carry out extensive searches both day and night. However, the area being covered is large, and Samba is particularly adept at avoiding detection, which has resulted in limited confirmed sightings,” the spokesperson added.
Locals have spotted Samba in Owslebury, Allbrook, Brambridge and Twyford, primarily along the River Itchen. She was seen near The Ship Inn in Owslebury and more recently along the river itself. Videos captured by locals show her sunbathing and diving into the water.
“The River Itchen does provide a suitable habitat for a capybara with plenty of water and vegetation, but it also presents challenges due to difficult terrain and limited access in some areas,” a March 30 statement from the zoo noted.
The zoo asked residents of Owslebury and other local villages to look out for Samba around waterbanks, gardens, ponds, rivers and local water environments. They also advised people to drive with caution, as she is likely to travel at night.
How Samba Made Her Great Escape
Samba and her sister, Tango, arrived at Marwell Zoo on March 16 from Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park in Ipswich. Their permanent habitat wasn’t finished yet, so the pair was placed in a temporary holding area while routine health checks were being carried out.
That arrangement lasted about a day.
“Samba and Tango had other ideas, however, and managed to escape from their new home …” the zoo stated. Staff recovered Tango quickly — she was found in the bushes at the zoo on the same day and “is doing absolutely fine and receiving plenty of care,” according to the zoo.
Samba, though? She had other plans.
Why the Zoo Won’t Give Up Hope
Capybaras have no immediate predators in the U.K., but the zoo wants Samba back for another reason. “Capybaras are social animals and our focus is on retrieving Samba safely and reuniting her with her sister Tango back at Marwell Zoo,” said Laura Read, Marwell Zoo’s chief executive.
The story has blown up across social media and international news outlets. The zoo acknowledged the viral attention in a March 30 statement: “As you may have seen across local, national and even global press – and all over your social feeds – we’ve had a rather unexpected turn of events here at Marwell over the past 11 days.”
The zoo also thanked its outside helpers: “A big thank you to these external teams for giving us your time and expertise and to the Marwell team who are working around the clock to bring Samba back safely.”
For now, Samba remains somewhere along the River Itchen while zoo teams work 24/7 to follow up on every sighting and lead. Whether she’ll come home on her own terms remains to be seen.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
