Update on Capybara Who Escaped From Zoo Is So Bittersweet

Cinnamon, a female Capybara who makes her home at Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Shropshire, England, recently went on a bit of a wander, igniting a massive search party in search of the escaped tropical rodent. They even tried to locate her with drone cameras.

The good news is, the missing mammal was finally located in a pond in a neighboring wildlife conservations area. But it was no picnic getting her back home.

As local news stations reported, Cinnamon the young capybara had a bit of a birthday adventure, escaping from the English zoo’s enclosure that she shares with parents and brother, and wandering the countryside on her own for over a week. Finally, she was tracked down in a pond and returned to her furry family.

Related: Capybara Pups 'Thriving and Diving' at San Diego Zoo Are Capturing Hearts Left and Right

Which is probably great for her, but she clearly isn’t happy about it.

A Water Rodent in an English Pond

"We're absolutely delighted to have Cinnamon back at the zoo," said Will Dorrell of the Hoo Zoo. “I’d love to say it was nice and easy getting her out of the pond but it wasn’t. Several of us got very wet.”

The biggest challenge to rescuing Cinnamon appeared to be that she didn’t actually want to be rescued. They had quite a time trying to convince her to get into a cage for transport to the zoo.

"Cinnamon was quite happy in the pond so we had to get in with her and slowly try to coax her into the cage.”

According to the BBC, it took nearly ten people in the pond in order to complete the capture.

"I know that there will be lots of people who will be very excited to see her, but nobody more so than her own mum and dad,” said Dorrell.

All About the Capybara

Though capybaras are rodents, their scientific name is Hydrochoerus, meaning “water pig” due to their favorite environment, the rivers, lakes and marshlands of their native South America. They resemble a giant version of their close relatives, the guinea pig, but can weigh up to a hundred and fifty pounds and be over two feet in height and four and a half feet in length.

Capybaras are herbivores, and live primarily on water plants like lake grasses and weeds, and their love of swimming has led some scientists to classify them as semi-aquatic. Cinnamon could have lived happily in that pond for quite some time—at least until the weather got cold.

One of the reasons it was so hard for rescuers to get to Cinnamon is because of the capybara’s remarkable swimming prowess. They have webbed feet and can remain submerged for several minutes at a time.

Capybaras like to remain in the water. In fact, their brittle skin can become cracked and sore without regular soaking. In this way, they are not unlike pigs of hippopotamuses, mammals who have a similar desire to wallow in mud and swim in rivers and ponds.

Though obviously a rare sight in the English countryside, they are extremely common in their native South America, where they can be seen in parks, forests, wetlands, and canals.

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