One of two missing capybaras spotted in High Park

After more than two weeks on the lam, one of two capybaras that bolted from High Park Zoo has been spotted.

Ben Lovatt says his keen-eyed friend, Danny, noticed one of the missing animals in High Park on Sunday at around 9:30 p.m.

Lovatt, who has zoo experience, was summoned to help while they waited for animal services to show up.

The two friends cautiously tracked the animal while waiting for city officials to collar the fugitive rodent.

“After 3 hours of waiting no city officials came to aid us,” Lovatt noted. “Even as we stood two meters from the animal as it sat in the water.

“It was the closest this animal has come to capture since the escape.”

Close, but no cigar.

Lovatt says the animal eventually bolted into the cover of brush after a spectator inadvertently scared it off.

City staff maintains it was too late to send someone out, saying they didn’t receive a notice until 11:30 p.m.

“Staff were informed last evening of the sighting at approximately 11:30pm, but did not go to the site as it was dark and unsafe for staff to be attending the scene at that hour,” Megan Price, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, told CityNews.

“Staff followed up and first thing this morning set a live trap in the area,” she added. “The experts we have consulted have indicated to us that this approach offers the best chance at successfully recapturing the animals.”

Zoo officials also believe they are hot on the trail of the mischievous duo.

“Staff know that they are in the park and where they are,” Friends of the High Park Zoo posted on Facebook on Sunday.

“Yes tracks have been confirmed, now to get them home.”

Watch a video about the growing concerns for the capybaras below or click here to view it.

The two female capybaras have been missing since May 24.

Zoo officials say the pair escaped when a new capybara was moving in to their pen around 6 a.m. that morning.

Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents. Fully grown, they can reach over four feet in height and can weigh as much as 140 pounds – they also look like large guinea pigs. They enjoy swimming and don’t like children.

The escape led to the nicknames Bonnie and Clyde (perhaps Thelma and Louise would have been better) for the pair, a parody Twitter account, an online video game, and joking comments from Mayor John Tory about forming a search party.

However, the zoo could be in real trouble, an animal welfare group told the CBC. A representative for ZooCheck said that the zoo could face charges under the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, especially given the zoo’s history.

This isn’t the first time an animal has run free from the High Park Zoo.

Almost exactly a year ago, the High Park Peacock escaped from the zoo and was on the loose in Toronto for days before returning home on its own.

In 2009, six animals – four llamas, one yak and one wallaby – escaped from the zoo after someone opened their enclosures.