How Cinnamon’s great Shropshire escape led to capybara craze

A young capybara’s escape from a zoo a fortnight ago gripped animal lovers across the globe.

Cinnamon’s Friday 13th flit from Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Shropshire has inspired memes, merchandise, and a song, which staff have on repeat.

Her keepers tell the BBC about the stress and celebrations of the week she went Awol and the impact on the small, family-run site.

Cinnamon fled her enclosure via a gate left accidentally open on 13 September, after being startled by a tractor mower.

Keepers realised within minutes the springer spaniel-sized rodent had slunk off to an adjacent area of long grass and woodland, and began to stake it out.

But, by the following night she had escaped beyond the zoo’s perimeter and owners Will and Becky Dorrell issued an appeal for help.

She was quickly located by a thermal drone in a zoo-owned conservation area, just 200m from its perimeter.

As rescuers slowly zoomed in, reluctant to scare her away, people around the world began to delight in the coverage of her escapades.

An off-the-cuff comment Will made during an interview, that Cinnamon was probably “living her best life”, made it into headlines across the world.

“Every single story I’d see pop up on Facebook or everything else had that quote in it,” Will said. “There’s so much bad news about I think people wanted a bit of light relief.”

Meanwhile, zoo staff who had volunteered to work around the clock to find her were running on adrenalin.

Will said: “For my wife and I it was a terrible week. We were both living on about two hours sleep a night.”

He described her eventual capture on 20 September as “a bit of a hairy situation”, with rescuers wading into a pond to coax her into a cage.

“None of us wanted to celebrate or anything else until she was back in the paddock.”

Only then did the tired staff breathe a huge, collective sigh of relief. “We’re all exceptionally happy over it,” he added. “There was a big celebration for the staff.”

The team has been shocked by the interest in Cinnamon’s story.

“It was really nice… that everyone wanted an update – everyone seemed invested in the story,” Will said.

But global coverage also ramped up the pressure. “We obviously got the best possible outcome… We got her back, she was fit, healthy,” he said.

“But things can go wrong, and things can go catastrophically wrong, and that was always our concern.”

Other than a minor graze on her nose, the capybara was remarkably unharmed by her exploits and even “had a bit of a belly” after a week of fending for herself.

“She’s got a little bit cheekier because she’s looking round her paddock now and sticking her head up to look over the other side,” Will said.

“She’s clever, which is probably why she managed to escape and why she took so long to catch.”

One comment on the zoo’s Facebook page following her recapture summed up the public mood: “Awww so glad she’s back safe! Never been so worried about an animal I’ve never met.”

While Cinnamon retreated from the limelight for a week for some R and R, other followers suggested what the zoo might do next.

“They should write a children’s book now to sell! Cinnamon, the great Escape or Cinnamon’s – living her best life! 😂 think of the merch they can make now!” said one.

The zoo confirmed its new star attraction would get a belated first birthday party on 12 October, featuring a hunt for her pictures around the site.

Now the danger has passed, “we’d probably be stupid not to capitalise a little bit”, Will said.

Cinnamon teddies, magnets and clothing are now available, with 100 orders in the first day alone.

“Now that we know that she’s fit and healthy and she’s safe, we can have a bit of fun with it,” he added.

A children’s book is in the works, and even rumours about a film.

But, Will confirmed Hollywood had not called yet. “I keep hearing rumours of a movie, but we haven’t yet been approached by anyone.”

Cinnamon is back on public display on Saturday, and is expected to pull in the crowds.

“Last Saturday was very, very busy – busier than we would expect it to be for a Saturday in September,” Will said. “I’d say the proof will be in the next couple of weeks.”