Toronto Zoo Recaptures Escaped Capybara After a Month on the Lam

Last month, a pair of clever capybaras at High Park Zoo in Toronto successfully orchestrated an epic jailbreak, running off while zookeepers attempted to transfer them to a new enclosure. While zookeepers caught up with the first capybara on June 12, the second continued to elude them. But now the second escaped capybara has been found after wandering into one of the many snack-laden traps zookeepers set around the park, The Globe and Mail reports.

The six-month-old capybaras, collectively called “Bonnie and Clyde” by zookeepers, became local celebrities during their stint as fugitives, inspiring memes and fake social media accounts, CP24 reports. While zoo employees took shifts searching for the capybaras, visitors turned to social media to report possible sightings of the animals, using the hashtag #CapybaraWatch.

For weeks, staff set traps all around the park, opening them up each morning and closing them at night so as not to catch raccoons. Finally, the second capybara was lured into a trap with some fruit and a bit of corn. He’s now safe in his enclosure, after freely wandering park grounds for an impressive five weeks.

[h/t The Globe and Mail]

Banner Image Credit: City of Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation