Gorilla's Audacious Escape from UK Zoo as It Downs Bottle of Blackcurrant Squash
Samba the runaway capybara has become Britain's most famous and furriest fugitive this week, but she is far from the only animal to devise ingenious methods to break free from captivity. Across the United Kingdom, zoos have witnessed a series of dramatic escapes, with creatures ranging from primates to rodents making headlines for their daring bids for freedom.
Samba the Capybara: A Zen Fugitive on the Loose
For anyone enjoying the sunshine in the Hampshire countryside this weekend, there is a small but entirely possible chance of encountering a humongous guinea pig. Do not panic—it is likely Samba, the runaway capybara who has captured the nation's imagination. As the world's largest rodents, capybaras can grow up to four feet long and are renowned as the most unbothered animals on the planet. Their online cult following knows them more for lounging in hot tubs with oranges balanced on their heads than causing trouble.
Since nine-month-old Samba and her sister Tango escaped from Marwell Zoo near Winchester over a week ago, Samba has lived up to her species' Zen reputation. While Tango was found nearby, Samba has been spotted sunbathing on the bank of the River Itchen and sitting serenely in front of Owslebury's Ship Inn on quiz night. Zoo staff have dismissed more fanciful sightings, such as her riding a bike or sipping a pint at AFC Totton, as AI-generated fabrications, but she continues to evade search teams and thermal drones with cool ease.
This is not the first capybara escape in Britain. In September 2024, Cinnamon the capybara became an international star after fleeing her enclosure at Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Shropshire, spending a week on the run. News crews from China and Australia covered the story, which inspired a children's book and cartoon. She was eventually located in a nearby swamp and returned, with the zoo now offering advice to those handling Samba's copycat breakout.
Other Ingenious Zoo Escapes Across Britain
Capybaras are not alone in their escape artistry. In January 2024, Honshu the Japanese macaque scaled the perimeter fence at the Highland Wildlife Park in the Cairngorms, Scotland, spending five days free before a local resident, Stephanie Bunyan, spotted him looking sadly through her window. A month earlier, a rainbow lorikeet escaped Colchester Zoo in Essex by hitching a ride on a visitor and flying through the doors.
In 2023, rare red panda Sundara escaped from Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, recaptured after staff at a local greengrocers saw her ambling down the road without a care. Another red panda, Amber, briefly escaped Belfast Zoo in 2019, with police humorously reporting her as taking in the sights of Glengormley.
London Zoo's History of Dramatic Escapes
London Zoo has seen some of the most dramatic animal escapes over the years. Obaysch, the first hippo to arrive in 1850, caused a ruckus when he escaped a decade later, lured back by zookeepers using a keeper he disliked as bait. In 1948, Cholmondley the chimp made a bid for freedom from the zoo hospital, walking across Regent's Park, hailing a bus, and biting a lady after putting his arm around her shoulders.
In February 1965, a male golden eagle named Goldie escaped, spending nearly two weeks loose over Camden Town, Euston, and Tottenham Court Road, causing traffic jams as crowds gathered. He reportedly killed a duck in the American ambassador's garden and attacked a terrier, with the owner swinging her handbag in retaliation.
Then, in 2016, gorilla Kumbuka, a western lowland silverback, spent an hour loose after an entrance to his enclosure was left open. He opened and drank five litres of undiluted blackcurrant squash before being recaptured with a tranquilliser gun. Perhaps the most famous case in London was not a zoo escape: in 1857, a Bengal tiger escaped from a menagerie in the East End, snatching a nine-year-old boy in its jaws before being subdued by owner Johann Jamrach, who rammed his fist into its mouth to force release.
Death-Defying Escapes from the Abattoir
Beyond zoos, some of the UK's most famous animal jailbreakers have come from slaughterhouses. In 1998, Butch and Sundance, the Tamworth Two pigs, escaped a lorry bound for an abattoir in Wiltshire, swimming the River Avon and hiding for a week as global news teams descended. Captured and saved from slaughter, they lived out their lives at a rare breed centre, becoming TV stars after their story was turned into a BBC comedy.
In June 2025, a bull named Liam caused chaos in Digbeth, Birmingham, after breaking loose from a slaughterhouse, charging through streets before being rehomed at Hillside Animal Sanctuary. In 2021, a pig dubbed Milton leapt from a trailer en route to slaughter in Devon, landing in a field and astonishing his owner, who decided to spare his life and keep him as a pet.
As Samba the capybara continues to evade capture, her legend grows with each day, joining a long line of furry fugitives who have captured hearts and headlines across Britain.
