Drusillas welcomes surprise Capybara twins
PUBLISHED 26/7/2024
Drusillas ‘cappy’ family welcomes surprise twin capybara babies, less than a year after triplet birth
A Sussex Zoo had the ‘cappiest’ surprise earlier this month, when keepers discovered capybara Mum-of-four Clementine was in labour. Just an hour later, she had safely delivered two bouncing baby capybara twins, who are now thriving alongside elder siblings Squash, Marmalade, and Tango.
The keeping team at Drusilla’s had their suspicions that the pitter-patter of yet more tiny webbed feet might be on the way. However, animal pregnancies can be tricky to confirm, and keepers can never be 100% sure if and when infants will arrive.
After a few false alarms earlier in the month, capybara Mum Clementine welcomed two new beautiful new pups on 3rd July, to create a fabulous family of 6. A far cry from just three years ago, when Clementine was still waiting for her Mr Right!
Despite being introduced to numerous suitors, Clementine didn’t hit it off with any of her prospective partners and there had been no capybara babies at the zoo for 11 long years. Then, in 2021, Augustus arrived at the zoo to sweep Clementine off her paws and the cute couple welcomed their first baby, Satsuma, in summer 2022.
Satsuma has now left Drusillas to go and start his own family at Ventura Wildlife Foundation, but Clementine and Augustus’s brood continues to grow, with the twins joining capybara triplets born last September. The new additions have already been spotted swimming and playing in the pool at the Zoo Park, taking their lead from their big brother and sisters.
Head Keeper, Gemma Romanis, commented: “We are so delighted to welcome these adorable capybara babies to the zoo. We thought Clementine was expecting, but didn’t know exactly when the pups would arrive, so it was a lovely surprise to discover her in labour and support her as she gave birth.
“Any baby is special, but it feels really wonderful for Clementine to grow her family again, after the journey she’s had to get here. She really struggled to find a mate she connected with, so the fact that she found ‘the one’ and has now had 6 babies with him is just lovely. A real ‘happily ever after’ ending!
“Since they were born earlier this month, the two loveable new additions are being beautifully cared for by their doting Mum and Dad and playing with their brother and sisters. Clementine is such a good mother, and the keeper team are all very impressed with how well she looks after all her babies – she’s a real supermum!”
Visitors can come and see the capybara babies this summer holidays as they swim and dive into the pool, frolic with their siblings, and munch on their favourite snacks. You can even get nose-to-nose with the capy cuties by booking a close encounter experience! But you might have to be patient, as a huge surge in the popularity of capybaras on social media means Drusillas capybara experience is now fully booked almost 6 months in advance.
With the new arrivals, the Sussex Zoo Park now has six capybaras, and they are asking the public to help decide the name of the two new pups – one girl and one boy! To vote for your favourite name, head to Drusillas Park socials (@drusillaspark).