Scotland celebrates first capybara birth in almost 20 years

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo has welcomed the birth of an incredibly cute capybara, the first to be born in Scotland in 18 years.

Keepers at the wildlife conservation charity are keeping a close eye on the ‘babybara’ as they are still quite vulnerable at this crucial point in their development.

Capybara babies, known as pups, weigh around 1.5 to 2.5kg when born, similar to the weight of a six-pack of Irn-Bru.

In the coming weeks, the pup will become more independent and spend time grazing.

They will learn social behaviours from the herd, including communication sounds such as barks and chirps, and group hierarchy.

Jonny Appleyard, animal keeper, said: ‘We are so proud of Luna and Rodney, they’re already doing an incredible job of looking after their new baby. They are such a beautiful species, and the babies are especially adorable!

‘The baby is slowly starting to get braver and explore, so you may well catch a glimpse of them, closely followed by mum. 

‘Capybara pups grow up quickly, so we recommend visiting the zoo soon if you want to see the new arrival at their cutest stage.’

The youngster will have their first health check in the coming weeks, at which point keepers will find out the gender and choose their name.

Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents, weighing up to 80kg and measuring up to 1.7 metres in size, and are native to South America.

In March, a massive search was underway for a capybara which escaped from a zoo.

The giant rodent, named Samba, burst out of her temporary enclosure just a day after being taken to Marwell Zoo, Hampshire.

Samba’s cellmate Tango joined her in the escape, but was quickly recovered from the bushes not far from the zoo.

Samba is yet to be found after escaping on March 16, though a possible sighting was reported near a pub in neighbouring Owslebury.