Marwell Zoo in Hampshire, England is "not giving up" on finding its missing capybara as the search for Samba continues.
Nine-month-old Samba escaped the zoo on 17 March alongside her sister Tango, who was found hiding in bushes on the zoo grounds and safely returned.
Samba's breakout, however, has resulted in search efforts in the area involving the local community, thermal drones and a specialist sniffer dog.
A member of the public from Owslebury, just over a mile from Marwell Zoo, spotted Samba on the evening of 17 March.
Search for Samba continues
She was later seen along the banks of the River Itchen in Hampshire, about two miles from the zoo.
Laura Read, CEO of Marwell Zoo, said (via the BBC): "We will always follow up on any public sighting. We still have that public number available. She won't evade everybody forever."
"We're not giving up," she added. "When this happened 30 years ago, it took two months to locate and get them back.
"We're in it for the long haul. We've got a duty of care and we will exercise that."
Marwell Zoo provided an update late last week and urged members of the public to get in touch on 07436 167 401 if Samba is spotted.
"We do believe she's probably still in the vicinity of the River Itchen," Read said in an Instagram video.
"It provides a really great habitat for her with food [and] shelter, and the area that she was spotted is very quiet and away from urban areas, noise, and dog walkers."
Marwell Zoo is asking the public to follow three rules: take a photo or video of Samba, provide the zoo with a precise location, and don't approach the missing animal.
"Although capybaras are gentle creatures and won't pose any risk or threat to anyone, [Samba] will be scared and being approached is likely to cause her to flee," said Read.
Images courtesy of Marwell Zoo
