On October 27, 2026, Marwell Zoo in Hampshire, England, released new camera-trap images of a capybara that had been on the run for more than seven months.
Her name is Samba, a young female capybara originally brought to the zoo from another wildlife park. Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents, native to South America.
Since her escape, search teams have deployed thermal-imaging drones, tracking dogs, wildlife cameras and more than 20 staff members. Two of the cameras were even stolen during the search.
Yet Samba remains at large.
Here is the strange part: the zoo now knows the general area where Samba is living. It still cannot simply go in and bring her home.
Why not? Marwell’s official search records, together with the story of another escaped British capybara, reveal why locating an animal and safely recovering it are two very different challenges.