A giant rodent which escaped from a zoo was caught today after a week on the run.
Cinnamon, the capybara escaped through an open gate in her enclosure at Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World into adjacent woodland.
The one-year-old was found this afternoon in a pond close to the zoo at Telford, Shropshire, and a search team spent an hour working to get her out of the water and into a cage.
Cinnamon escaped last Friday when keepers entered the capybara enclosure to mow the paddock, as she was hidden in long grass near the gate, Mr Dorrell said.
Native to South America, capybaras are the largest rodents in the world. They are semi-aquatic and adults can grow up to 4.4ft in length, stand up to 24in tall and weigh between five and ten stone.
Cinnamon the capybara escaped last Friday when keepers entered the enclosure to mow the paddock, as she was hidden in long grass near the gate
A baby Cinnamon and Churro pictured at the zoo with their mother
Zookeepers worked through the whole of last night to find the animal after she was spotted by a thermal drone on Tuesday just 200metres from her enclosure
When the gate was opened, she slipped around the side of a tractor to leave the enclosure.
She had been spotted in a field next to the zoo on Tuesday night, but retreated into impenetrable undergrowth when zoo staff approached.
Efforts to recover the capybara were then paused until yesterday so that the animal did not become too stressed.
‘We’re absolutely delighted to have Cinnamon back at the zoo,’ said owner, Will Dorrell.
‘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,’ he said.
‘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 has been returned to an enclosure with her twin brother, Churro, and the zoo said she was acclimatising to life back at the zoo.
Staff said they will monitor her over the weekend, with a view to returning her to the capybara paddock next week.
Zoo owner Will Dorrell had previously told the BBC that Cinnamon was ‘probably living her best life’ in the marshland and riverways opposite the zoo, which were something of a natural habitat for the animal, and was not at risk from predators.
The rodent weighs 30 kilos and is the size of a large spaniel.
Drone footage captured Cinnamon on the run from the zoo
A younger Cinnamon pictured at Hoo Zoo, where she lives with her parents and brother
Cinnamon, pictured with her brother Churro, fled her habitat at Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Telford on Friday
Capybaras can hold their breath for up to five minutes and run up to 20mph.
Capybaras are the largest rodent species in the world, and they look like giant guinea pigs.
They live in savannas and dense forests near bodies of water. They are a social species, usually found in groups of a dozen or so, and sometimes up to 100.