Escaped capybara camera traps stolen, zoo says

Two of the camera traps being used in the search for an escaped capybara have been stolen, a zoo has said.

Nine-month-old Samba escaped from Marwell Zoo, near Winchester in Hampshire, on 17 March, prompting huge search efforts involving thermal drones and a specialist sniffer dog.

The traps vanished from private land earlier this week, zoo chief executive Laura Read said.

She said the thefts were "surprising and disappointing".

She added: "We just want to bring her back and make sure she's safe and well looked after but finding out that our camera traps had been stolen was a bit of a blow.

"Sadly, we haven't had a confirmed sighting on any of them of Samba.

"Every day we go out, collect the cards from the traps, we bring it back, we review the footage, we replace the new cards and this is just an ongoing cycle."

There have been no other confirmed sightings of Samba since she was filmed on a riverbank near Twyford on 22 March, Read said.

The zoo's 24-hour "Samba hotline" has taken reports which often turned out to be muntjac deer, she added.

Recent search efforts have been focussed around the Highbridge and Brambridge areas, downstream from Twyford.

Read said: "We're not giving up, we're not backing down, we're not taking our eye off the ball with finding Samba.

"That is our number one priority within the organisation at the moment."