High Park capybaras add 3 new accomplices to their family with birth of babies
Toronto's infamous capybara couple, who gained fame when they broke free from the High Park Zoo last spring, are expanding their family.
Mayor John Tory announced that the capybaras, nicknamed Bonnie and Clyde after they spent weeks on the lam from authorities, have had three "capybabies."
"The couple credits their long time apart this summer wandering the wilderness of Toronto's High Park for the kindling of their passion, and now they have three adorable pups to show for it," says an official birth announcement tweeted by Tory.
The mayor said "Bonnie" and her babies are "healthy and doing well."
In response to the birth, the Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation, which works with the city and private groups to improve the city's parks and public spaces, launched a "baby registry" to solicit donations for the zoo. The High Park attraction is in the midst of a 10-year, $20-million upgrade.
Capybara enclosure to be upgraded
The furry fugitives made international headlines when they escaped from their pen at the High Park Zoo, in the city's west end, last May 24.
One was caught after two weeks, while the second was trapped after a month.
In October, a group called Friends of High Park Zoo announced a fundraising campaign to help the facility upgrade the capybara enclosure to ensure the large rodents and their pups don't make a second break for it.
The renovation is part of the larger capital improvement plan for the zoo, which attracts more than 700,000 visitors each year, according to the foundation.
The proposed renovations to the capybara area include enlarging their small pond so they will have more room to swim, and upgrading gates and fences.
