Emus and cheetahs and capybaras, oh my! A brief history of Canada's animal escapes

Captivated by the rogue capybaras in Toronto? The pair who have been dubbed Bonnie and Clydejoin a growing list of creatures thathave gone on the loose aroundthe country.

While the search continues for themale andfemale capybara from Toronto's High Park Zoo, here's a brief history of Canada's most memorable animal escapes from Burnaby, B.C., to Corner Brook, N.L.

Peacock inToronto

The back story:Toronto's High Park Zoo is no stranger to escapees. Last year, one of theircolourful peacocks fled twice. It roamed the neighbourhoodhopping from oneroof to anotherbefore eventually makingits way back to the zoo.

Coun. SarahDoucette, whose ward includes the zoo, claims zoo staff generally "knew where he was" the entire time.

Sightings:Many used social media to alert the city as to where the peacock had landed. From aneavestroughto an alleyway,here are a fewof the sightings made when the peacock was on the lam.

Twitter account:Yes.@TorontoPeacock,with more than 1,500 followers.

The tweet:Doucettehad a pretty unfortunate typo in one of herpeacock-related tweets, which led to this memorable accusation.

Emu in Noonan, N.B.

The back story:A six-foot-tall emu escaped from a New Brunswick farm in April. His owner, Mike Sorenson, was able to track the bird down relatively quickly it went into the woodsbut it took another three hours before he was ableround it up.

Sorenson thinks the bird was scared by something, so much so that it decided toscalethe fence and escape its enclosure.

Social status: When the emu went missing,Sorensonused social media as a plea for help finding the elusive animal. He kept providing updates on the emu's whereabouts throughout the day, much to the entertainment of his Facebook and Twitter followers.

Twitter account: No.

The quote:"Issac managed to spin it around with his prime emu herding skills and Icompleted the kill with a full blown tackle in a mud hole. The fugitive is now locked in the barn under heavy guard!!!" Sorensontweeted following the take down.

Cheetah near Creston, B.C.

The back story:Last December, Samantha Istancetook the abovepicture of a cheetah wandering along the side of the road. After the photo circulated,Doug Bos of Discovery Wildlife Parkcame forward to say that the cheetah's markings suggested it might bea cheetahnamed Annie Rose, whohad spent some time at his Alberta facility.

"I don't know 100 per cent for sure if [it is] the same cheetah," he told CBC News. "But the chances of [it] not being the same cheetah are very unlikely."

But are they allowed?:In B.C., cheetahs are considered a "controlled alien species" and it's illegal to own one without a permit.

Cheetah on the loose in B.C.

9 years ago

Duration 1:56

A cheetah has been spotted on a B.C. highway, raising questions as to how it got there.

Twitter account: No.

The response:The RCMP put out a special warning, telling residents to be on the lookout,and prompted asearch involving three conservation officers.

Urban encounters

Sometimesescaped animals aren't the issue. Canadian officials have also had to cope with wild creatures caught in precarious urban situations.

Moose in Corner Brook, N.L.

Moose on the loose in Corner Brook

9 years ago

Duration 0:54

A moose on the loose in Corner Brook gets chased away by the RNC with our video journalist, Jeremy Eaton close behind

The back story: Not much is known about how this moose got into the parking lot out front of theSobeys grocery store, where it movedbetween parked and movingcars.

What we do know is that the Newfoundland police were able to successfully escort the moose out of the parking lot and back into a wooded area, where it took off. CBC managed to captureit all on camera.

Twitter account:No.

Friends across the country?:Moose cameos indowntownCorner Brookaren't all that rare. But there havealso been similar occurrences inSt. John'sand Timmins, Ont., which bothincluded police escorts, or chases, depending on how you look at it.

The moment: At one point duringits escape, the moosestops and looks both ways before crossing the road. Safety first, even if you happen to be a moose trampling through a Corner Brookgrocery store parking lot.

Deer in Vancouver

'Downtown Deer' too friendly for its own good

9 years ago

Duration 1:40

Vancouver's 4-legged goodwill ambassador in the news again in new video showing the fawn licking and nuzzling the hand of a tourist in Stanley Park

The backstory:After asupposed swim across the busyBurrardInlet, the so-calledDowntown Deerpranced its way into the hearts ofVancouverites.The deershowedup at various intersections downtownbefore eventually settling in Stanley Park.

DanStraker, theurban wildlife programs coordinator for the Stanley Park Ecology Society, warned people not to feed the deer and not to get close. But that didn't stop some from gettinghand licks and nuzzles.

Sightings:From joining the morning commute out front of the courthouseto Stanley Park, the deer made its presence well known both on the street and on social media.

Twitter account:Yes.@DowntownDeer, with more than 500 followers.

Friends across the country?:Quite a fewdeershave turned up in cities across the country, including aherd of deer who wereshooed away fromdowntown Winnipeg. On Wednesday, a skittish doeran throughone ofHalifax's main streets and remains on the looseas of this evening.

Honourable mentions

• IKEA monkey in Toronto
• Lion in Wendover, Ont.
• "Chubby" corn snakein Victoria, B.C.