Sighting in hunt for lacking capybara ‘Cinnamon’ who escaped from zoo

A missing capybara who escaped from a UK zoo to ‘live her best life’ has been spotted after the public was urged not to approach the creature, which is the world’s largest breed of rodent.

One-year-old Cinnamon has been on the run for four days since managing to flee from her enclosure at Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Telford, Shropshire.

Zoo bosses confirmed she escaped on Friday and entered woodlands within the zoo grounds before getting beyond the perimeter fence.

Now, zookeepers in Telford are preparing to return Cinnamon to her family after she was located last night with the use of a drone.

Will Dorrell, the zoo’s owner, said: ‘We’re hoping that we will have her back here soon. We’ve got a group of dedicated keepers here at Hoo Zoo who have been working all through the night last night and they will be working through the night tonight.

Cinnamon, pictured with her brother Churro, fled her habitat at Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Telford on Friday

A baby Cinnamon and Churro pictured at the zoo with their mother

‘We’ve got live traps out for her which are cages that if she walks into it will shut behind, so hopefully we can bring her back with the least amount of stress and as quickly as possible.’

Zookeepers are hoping to return to the location where she was spotted yesterday to capture her and return her back safe and sound.

Mr Dorrell said yesterday that the species – which recently went viral on TikTok due to their cute appearance – are ‘so good at hiding’. He joked that she is ‘probably living her best life’.

In an update yesterday, the zoo wrote on social media: ‘We’d like to thank everyone for their support and kind comments at this difficult time.

‘Despite searching throughout the night there were no sightings of Cinnamon.

‘However, we have received some very useful information from local residents and now believe that Cinnamon is likely living in and around the Humber Brook on our northern border.

‘As a result of this new information, we will be conducting a mass search of the area this evening with the help of a local thermal camera drone operator and the keepers from Exotic Zoo who have kindly volunteered their help.

‘We are getting lots of offers of help from local residents and we would like to ask you to keep you eyes peeled.

‘Cinnamon is very timid and any attempt to capture her by untrained individuals could result in driving her further away from her home – which we want to avoid.

‘Cinnamon is greatly loved and missed by her keepers who are continuing to give extra care to her parents and brother who remain at Hoo Zoo.’

Mr Dorrell added yesterday: ‘She hasn’t been found yet unfortunately, we’ve got an idea where she is, but they’re so good at hiding and fantastic swimmers, you’d have to step on her to know where she is.

‘We’re setting out on a big search party tonight with a thermal drone.’

He said the zoo had a few tips on where Cinnamon might be from members of the public that ‘sounded plausible’.

A younger Cinnamon pictured at Hoo Zoo, where she lives with her parents and brother

‘We still think she hasn’t moved that far, that she is close to the zoo,’ he added. ‘She will be more active at night than during the day, she’s going to hunker down and stay hidden, we’re hoping she’s going to stick her head up this evening.’

Asked how he believes Cinnamon is doing out of the zoo on her own, Mr Dorrell said he thinks she’s ‘probably living her best life’.

He said: ‘The area, unfortunately for us, where the zoo is, there’s lots of watercourses, lots of food, all the things that capybaras love to eat and they love to swim.

‘They’re relatively hardy animals, [we’ve got] absolutely no welfare concerns about her, she’s going to be out there loving it, but we’d rather have her back so we can make sure she’s ok.’

Capybaras are native to South America and are the largest living rodents in the world, belonging to the same family as guinea pigs and rock cavies.

They are semi-aquatic and spend most of their time grazing or swimming in the nearest water they can find.

Adults can grow up to 106-134 cm (3.4ft-4.4ft) in length, stand 50 to 62cms (20ins to 24 ins) tall and typically weigh between five-ten stone (35kg to 66kg).