TikTok-famous capybara becomes dad as zoo welcomes first pup in 18 years

by

Edinburgh Zoo has welcomed a new capybara pup! This is the first capybara born in Scotland since 2008, and it brings the zoo’s capybara family to a total of four – a remarkable growth from having none just over a year ago.

Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents, and adults can grow to be over four and a half feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds. These semi-aquatic mammals are comfortable in the water and can even hold their breath for up to five minutes—a helpful skill for escaping predators in their South American wetland homes.

Keepers will give the baby animal a health check in the next few weeks to find out if it’s a boy or a girl, and then they’ll give it a name.

From TikTok famous to first-time dad

The baby red panda was born to parents Luna and Rodney, who are first-time parents themselves. According to animal keeper Jonny Appleyard, Luna and Rodney are naturally great parents, and the team is carefully monitoring the pup during these important early weeks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Edinburgh Zoo (@edinburghzoo)

It’s an interesting story how this group of capybaras ended up at the zoo. Edinburgh Zoo hadn’t kept capybaras for more than 15 years before Luna and Cali, two young females, arrived in February 2025.

Rodney arrived next. Before relocating to Scotland, this young wolf had already become popular online – a video of him, the sole pup in his litter at Dartmoor Zoo, went viral on TikTok. He quickly adapted to his new surroundings after joining the female wolves in April 2025.

Over the next few months, the young capybara will learn how to live with the group, figuring out everything from who’s in charge to how they talk to each other through different sounds.

Life hasn’t been so smooth for all capybaras in the UK lately. Earlier in 2026, a young capybara named Samba escaped from Marwell Zoo in Hampshire only a day after arriving. Zoo staff used nets and a tranquilizer gun to try and find him, but the search was made more difficult by several mistaken sightings of deer.

Read More

2026-05-09 14:18