ON THE RUN! Hampshire's Most Wanted Rodent Evades Drones, Sniffer Dogs and an Entire Zoo in Epic Escape

She's small, she's furry, and she's making a mockery of Hampshire's finest search technology. Samba the capybara — a nine-month-old South American rodent with a taste for freedom — has been on the run from Marwell Zoo since Tuesday, and the entire county has gone absolutely bonkers trying to find her.

Thermal drones? Deployed. Professional sniffer dogs? On the case. University of Southampton's cutting-edge surveillance technology? Pressed into service. And yet this plucky little creature — about the size of a small spaniel — continues to evade capture, popping up outside village pubs before vanishing into the Hampshire countryside like some kind of furry fugitive.

You couldn't make it up. But it's happening. Right here. Right now. And honestly? We're all a bit obsessed.

The Great Escape

It all started on Tuesday when Samba and her companion Tango — both nine-month-old capybaras freshly arrived from Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park in Suffolk — decided that their temporary enclosure at Marwell Zoo wasn't quite up to scratch.

While Tango was quickly recaptured nearby (clearly the sensible one), Samba spotted a small gap in the fencing and seized her moment. Freedom beckoned. Adventure called. And off she went, leaving zoo staff scratching their heads and reaching for their thermal imaging equipment.

"We do think she probably is still quite close by," said Laura Read, chief executive of Marwell Wildlife, in what might be the understatement of the year. "We're not ruling out the fact she may have come back."

May have come back? Five days later, with drones circling and sniffer dogs snuffling, Samba remains at large. This capybara isn't coming back. She's living her best life.

Spotted at the Pub

In a twist that could only happen in rural Hampshire, Samba's most dramatic sighting came outside The Ship Inn in Owslebury — a charming village pub where locals had gathered for quiz night.

Nicky Scott was waiting to test her trivia knowledge when the evening took an unexpected turn.

"There was a bang on the window and one of my team pointed at a capybara sitting in the road," she recalled. "I ran out and followed it down the lane until it disappeared into a hedgerow. It was very sweet but it shouldn't be out."

Sweet? SWEET? This is a fugitive rodent that's outsmarted an entire zoo, and she's calling it sweet. Only in Hampshire would an escaped exotic animal become a beloved local character before it's even been caught.

Keepers arrived shortly afterwards with heat-seeking drones, but — in a pattern that's becoming depressingly familiar — Samba had vanished. The hedgerow gave up nothing. The quiz, presumably, continued.

The Technology Arms Race

Marwell Zoo isn't messing about. This isn't some half-hearted search with a few volunteers poking around bushes. This is a full-scale operation involving some seriously impressive kit.

The University of Southampton has deployed drone technology originally developed for wildlife monitoring research. Two thermal imaging drones now patrol the skies around Owslebury, scanning for heat signatures that might indicate a capybara-shaped life form hiding in the undergrowth.

There's just one problem: the thermal cameras keep picking up muntjac deer instead. Turns out the small native deer are roughly the same size as a juvenile capybara, leading to multiple false alarms and some very confused deer wondering why drones keep buzzing overhead.

"We've got nets and we have the option of a dart gun which would temporarily knock her out," explained Read. "But if she is anywhere near the water that is a no-go, so it would be the case of trying to grab her with a net."

Capybaras, for the uninitiated, are semi-aquatic rodents that absolutely love water. If Samba has found herself a nice pond or stream — and Hampshire has plenty — she's probably having the time of her life while search teams stand on the banks waving nets ineffectually.

Enter the Super Hound

When drones fail, you bring in the big guns. Or in this case, the big nose.

Diane Kasperowicz runs a company called Super Hounds, and she's been deployed with her expert sniffer dog Louis to track Samba using nothing but his incredible nose and some of the capybara's straw bedding.

Admittedly, Louis has never tracked a capybara before. But Kasperowicz was quick to point out her credentials.

"I did successfully track a Binturong in Kent last year," she revealed.

A Binturong. In Kent. For those keeping score at home, that's a bearcat — a rare Southeast Asian mammal that smells inexplicably like popcorn. If Louis can track a popcorn-scented bearcat through the Garden of England, surely a South American rodent in Hampshire is within his capabilities?

Promisingly, Louis paused intently at a field during the search, making his owner "very optimistic" they might be getting close. As we went to press, however, Samba remained uncaptured. The field yielded nothing but mud and disappointed hopes.

Talk of the Village

Meanwhile, the human residents of Owslebury and surrounding areas have gone capybara crazy.

"It's definitely the talk of the village. Everybody is abuzz about it," confirmed Leo Todd, chairman of the pub's petanque club. "It's a funny story but it's also a bit of a sad one as well. This poor little animal has got lost, so of course we'd like to see it found."

Residents have been checking gardens, searching ponds, and peering into outbuildings. The zoo has urged people not to approach Samba if spotted — apparently the stress of being chased by well-meaning villagers could make things worse — but that hasn't stopped everyone fancying themselves a capybara catcher.

Dog walkers have been asked to keep their pets on leads to avoid scaring the fugitive. Drivers have been warned to take extra care, particularly at night. The entire community has mobilised around a single, singular goal: find the capybara.

What Happens Next?

Marwell Zoo insists the search continues "around the clock" and they're confident Samba will be found. The animal isn't considered dangerous to people, pets, or wildlife — she's a herbivore who just wants to munch vegetation and splash about in water.

The concern is for Samba herself. While Hampshire's weather is mild enough, she's a young animal far from home in unfamiliar territory. The zoo hopes she'll hunker down somewhere safe near a water source until they can locate her.

Anyone who spots a small, light brown, spaniel-sized rodent ambling through the Hampshire countryside is asked to contact Marwell Zoo immediately with photos, videos, and precise locations. Do not approach. Do not chase. Just observe and report.

As for Samba? She's out there somewhere, probably sitting by a stream, watching the drones fly overhead, and wondering what all the fuss is about.

Five days and counting. The search continues. Hampshire holds its breath.

And somewhere in the hedgerows near Owslebury, one very clever capybara is having the adventure of her young life.

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