Giant rodent bigger than a labrador is still on the loose in Rutland

The capybara, which belongs to local estate agent Vernon Moore, escaped from an enclosure at his home in Wymondham around a month ago.

It was recently spotted and photographed by keen walker Ian McGlynn, 80, from Bourne, resting beside a stream in Empingham.

Mr Moore, managing director of Moores Estate Agents, has private menagerie at his home – with other animals including rare birds and ducks; birds of prey; wallabies; and coatimundi.

He had been attempting to lure the capaybara into a transport box with food, but the powerful animal got spooked and ran off in the direction of Tickencote and Ryhall.

As previously reported here, Mr Moore acquired two capybaras as babies last year. They are brothers and were getting along fine until recently when they reached maturity and started getting territorial and fighting.

The smaller of the two forced his way through a wire fence and has been wandering the countryside since then, feeding on crops in fields and resting in and around local watercourses.

When it is eventually caught, the capybara will rehomed at a farm park in Yorkshire where there is a female companion waiting for him.

Defra and the RSPCA are aware of the situation. Although capybaras can weigh as much as a person, they are said to be harmless.

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