She’s 9 months old, she loves water and she has outsmarted drones, search dogs and thermal imaging technology. Samba the capybara escaped from England’s Marwell Zoo more than two weeks ago, and despite the best efforts of an entire community, this little adventurer is still on the loose.
How Samba escaped Marwell Zoo
Samba and her sister, Tango, had just arrived at Marwell Zoo in southern England from Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park in Ipswich. The zoo shared the news in a March 19 press release.
“On Monday we welcomed two lovely nine-month-old female capybaras, Samba and Tango, to Marwell from Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park in Ipswich. They were homed in a temporary area waiting to go through our standard new animal checks,” the zoo stated.
By Tuesday, both sisters had slipped out of the temporary holding area. Tango, the less adventurous of the two, was found hiding in bushes within the zoo and safely returned. Samba had far bigger plans.
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The search for Samba pulls out all the stops
The zoo has thrown everything it has at finding this little runaway. Search dogs and drones have been deployed to scour the surrounding countryside. Dr. Mark Pickering, a member of the University of Southampton’s engineering department, brought in thermal imaging drones — the same type of technology used in search and rescue by emergency services.
Even that wasn’t enough.
“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, per The Guardian.
A member of the public from Owslebury, just over a mile from the zoo, reported seeing Samba near The Ship Inn pub. That sighting sent search teams to focus their efforts in the area. The zoo urged locals in Owslebury and surrounding villages to keep watch, especially near water.
“Capybaras love water so please check gardens, ponds, rivers and local water environments where she may be hiding,” the zoo said, adding that Samba is “more likely to travel at night.”
Samba had a dramatic day on the river
One of the best Samba sightings came from local resident Claudie Paddick, who filmed the capybara taking a dip in the River Itchen while walking her dogs Growler and Patsy near her house last Sunday.
In the video, Samba can be seen sunbathing on the riverbank in Twyford before Growler, a black labrador, barks in curiosity. The capybara immediately dives into the water and does not resurface.
“It was bonkers,” Paddick said. “I didn’t even know what a capybara was.”
What happened next sounds like a scene from a comedy. Paddick showed the video to her neighbors, Lindsay and Luke, who recognized the animal right away. “Luke came running down with one of his fishing nets to try and catch it,” she said. Volunteers arrived quickly, including Laura Read, the chief executive of Marwell Zoo, who spotted Samba in the water. A zoo member even borrowed Paddick’s paddleboard and used a net to try to flush the capybara out.
Samba eluded capture once again.
Why Marwell Zoo wants to bring Samba home
Here’s the part that tugs at your heart. Samba isn’t in serious danger — there are no natural predators for capybaras in the U.K., and the zoo emphasized that capybaras “are gentle and do not pose any risk to people, pets or wildlife.” The real concern is her sister.
“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.
They’ve been through this before.
Read said the escape had striking similarities to an incident 30 years ago when two escaped capybaras were found along the same stretch of water, per BBC.
“We’re not giving up,” Read said. “When this happened 30 years ago, it took two months to locate and get them back.”
She pointed to a silver lining: “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 is asked to contact the zoo’s 24/7 hotline at 07436 167401 with a photo and location — but to avoid approaching or disturbing her, as only her keepers should make contact.
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