Search for Samba the capybara continues as escapee becomes viral sensation

Samba - the ‘adventurous’ capybara - escaped her temporary holding having arrived from Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park in Essex with fellow companion, Tango, on Monday, March 16, sparking a major search and rescue.

Marwell Zoo took to social media to confirm they had launched a search to track the fugitive capybara down - but despite sightings nearby, the team have been unsuccessful in locating her.

In the days since fleeing, Samba has caused a stir across social media and has quickly become a viral sensation, with dozens of deep fake pictures of the capybara in various locations circulating under the hashtag #findsama. Business and community groups such as Keep Milton Green, Tournerbury Woods Estate, Envisage Dental Emsworth and West Quay Shopping Centre among those posting images on their social media feeds.

In an update, Lara Read, chief executive of Marwell Zoo, said: “We discovered that somehow Samba and Tango had managed to give us the slip and escape from their enclosure despite all necessary checks having taken place.

“The search commenced at that point and we immediately got in touch with our friends and colleagues at the University of Southampton to use their thermal drones to help us examine where they could have gone within the zoo.

“We located Tango quite quickly and she had never left the zoo perimeter - she is absolutely fine, she’s been really well looked after and although I’m sure she’s missing her sister, her welfare is our top priority.

“In terms of Samba, she clearly decided to go a little bit further afield. People will be aware that she was spotted in Owslebury, which is a village nearby to us - this weekend we got a sighting of Samba on the banks of the River Itchen. Our teams have been deployed round the clock to follow up on any sightings we see.”

Marwell is advising members of the public to remain vigilant and contact the team on 07436 167401 if Samba is spotted.

Ms Read has also asked the public to send in pictures and videos of Samba if you think you’ve seen her so the team can make sure the sighting is a capybara before being deployed.

“We’ve been out there from morning until night using drones, using specialist dog units and using all the resources we can to try and locate Samba. Unfortunately, she’s still managed to elude us for now. We do believe she probably is still in the vicinity of the River Itchen. It provides a really good habitat for her, with food, shelter and the area she was spotted is very quiet.”

If you see Samba, do not approach her, contact the team immediately.

More updates to follow.