Capybara

Meet Coroline

Coroline is 1 year old, and she is our female Capybara that has joined us from All Things Wild. She is already settling in well, is more confident than Maní and can be seen exploring her habitat or sitting in her water.  She loves nothing more than tucking into to all of her vegetables, and she has shown a fondness for butternut squash.

Coroline and her keepers are slowly building up a relationship since arriving at the park, and she has already started feeling settled enough to take food out of their hands.

Meet Maní

Maní is a 1-year-old male Capybara that has joined us from Shepreth Wildlife Park. He is quite shy and is taking a little longer to settle in his new home here at Hertfordshire Zoo and spends most of the day in his bed. However, he is a bit of a night owl and enjoys exploring his habitat late into the night. Maní is lighter in colour than Coroline and also slightly larger than her.

Maní has been bought to Hertfordshire Zoo, along with Coroline, to form a new breeding pair and hopefully, will have some Capybara pups in the future. They will also mix with our lowland Tapirs once they have settled.  Capybara and Tapirs share the same habitat in the wild so showing both species co-habiting will help us educate our visitors about the natural habitat they come from and raise the awareness of the threats they face.

Three pups born at Hertfordshire Zoo!

Early in June 2023 we welcomed  three new Capybara pups. The pups were on their feet within the first 30 minutes of being born and have continued to grow strong and healthy.  They are gaining confidence daily. They have already been seen roaming their habitat with Coroline at their side and soon we are sure they will be having their own zoomies around the habitat and taking a dip in their large pool.

Another two pups join the family

In the early hours of 27th November 2023 Coroline and Maní welcomed a further two pups to the family.  Amidst great joy, the park celebrates the birth of these precious capybara babies to proud mum, Coroline. According to a zoo spokesperson, “They’ve already settled in and are showing off their playful personalities!”