1 down, 1 to go: Runaway capybara caught by Toronto Wildlife Centre - Action News
Home WebMail Saturday, November 23, 2024, 12:46 PM | Calgary | -12.1°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Toronto

1 down, 1 to go: Runaway capybara caught by Toronto Wildlife Centre

The adventure has come to an end for one of Toronto High Park Zoo's runaway capybaras which was captured Sunday evening by the city's wildlife centre.

Wildlife workers used corn to lure the giant rodent

Toronto Wildlife Centre team high-fives and celebrates the capture of one of the runaway capybaras that has been on the loose for around three weeks. (Emma Renda/Twitter)

The adventure has come to an end for one of Toronto High Park Zoo's runaway capybaras which was captured Sunday evening by the city's wildlife centre.

A pair of dog-sized rodents, one male and one female, hadbeen roaming the west-end park since they escaped during atransfer at the park's petting zoo on May 24.

The capture was witnessed by Emma Renda, who wasout for a run in the park. She said Toronto Wildlife Centre workers caught the animal around 7 p.m., close to a pond towards the southeast corner of the 160-hectare park.

"The team had set up a trap and put some corn in it," Renda said. "We heard a fence closing. All of a sudden they realized they caught it. Some of the team was high-fiving. It was really exciting."

The captured capybara will likely join Chewy (above) at High Park Zoo. One other capybara is still on the run. (Martin Trainor/CBC)

It was not yet known if the capybara caught was the male or the female.

Sightings of the furry fugitives dubbed Bonnie and Clyde by those following their escape hadincreased in recent days.

"I'm sure the wilderness team is really happy," Renda said. "It's good to know it's going to a place it'll be taken care of."

A CBC News camera captured one of the capybaras in a forested area at the southeast corner of the park on Friday morning, where the rodent proceeded to go for a swim in apond.

The capybara couple garnered national attention with their escape. Agroup of volunteers dedicated to their capture have remained on the hunt for the animals.

According to Renda, who spoke with some of the workers at High Park, members of the staff andvolunteers had been searching for the furry rodents on their days off as well.

The other capybara remainson the run.

The captured capybara is moved by the Toronto Wildlife Centre team to the back of a van. (Instagram/ Emma Renda)

Coun. Sarah Doucette, whose Parkdale-High Park ward is home to the capybaras, shared a photo of the team who carried out the capture mission.

"It is resting off site for now," Doucette said, adding that the capybara will go back to the enclosure at the zoo eventually.

The Toronto Wildlife Centre team pose for a picture, looking pleased with themselves, after the successful capture of one of the missing capybaras. (Faceboook/ Sarah Doucette)