Toronto's High Park Zoo capybara escapee.
They've been called Toronto's Bonnie and Clyde. Except they are rodents — giant rodents.
Two capybaras made an audacious escape from Toronto’s High Park Zoo on May 24. And the pair was spotted repeatedly by pedestrians in the park.
Capybaras are the largest species of rodent in the world, indigenous to South America.
“They are herbivores, they are very shy and timid,” explains Megan Price, spokesperson for the Toronto Parks Department.
“We started out sort of trying to lure them back to the pen at the zoo," says Price. "You know, playing capybara noises and putting some food out, and we had staff kind of staked out in a truck the first night. But after the first few nights, it was obvious that they weren’t going to be coming back to the scene of the crime.”
Eventually, the pair were found in the park.
One of the capybaras was captured earlier this month, but the second one remained on the lam until Tuesday morning.
But their legend lives on.
The pair has become a social media sensation — they even have a Twitter account.
The pair are now back in their pen, which is a good thing, according to Price. “It was going around on social media for a while you know ‘stay free capybaras,’ but I think people realized that ultimately if we didn’t catch them that they wouldn’t have survived the winter here.”
“I think people overall are relieved and happy that they’ve been brought back home," says Price.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.