CityNews spots capybara at High Park pond

A capybara that has eluded capture for more than two weeks was spotted Friday morning by our very own Breakfast Television cameraman Bertram Dandy.

One of the two missing capybaras was seen swimming at the south end of High Park, near The Queensway, and then clambering up a bank.

Dandy says he was just setting up his camera for a weather shot when he spotted the capybara right at his feet.

“She was right there! And she was ninja-still. It looked like a log,” Dandy said.

The two female capybaras escaped from their pen at the High Park Zoo on May 24, as zoo workers were moving a third capybara into the enclosure.

One of them was spotted on June 5, but was not captured. City staff said traps were set the next morning.

Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents. Fully grown, they can reach over four feet in height and can weigh as much as 140 pounds – they also look like large guinea pigs. They enjoy swimming and don’t like children.

The escape led to the nicknames Bonnie and Clyde (perhaps Thelma and Louise would have been better) for the pair, a parody Twitter account, an online video game, and joking comments from Mayor John Tory about forming a search party.

However, the zoo could be in real trouble, an animal welfare group told the CBC. A representative for ZooCheck said that the zoo could face charges under the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, especially given the zoo’s history.

This isn’t the first time an animal has run free from the High Park Zoo.

Almost exactly a year ago, the High Park Peacock escaped from the zoo and was on the loose in Toronto for days before returning home on its own.

In 2009, six animals – four llamas, one yak and one wallaby – escaped from the zoo after someone opened their enclosures.