Everything we know about Cinnamon - the missing Telford capybara on the loose for a week

Since news broke of the escape of Cinnamon the capybara, the internet has been gripped with the mission to bring her home.

Spawning dozens of news articles, hundreds of TikTok videos and thousands of concerned tweets (or whatever we're calling posts on X now), it's pretty indisputable that Shropshire now boasts the most famous capybara in the world.

But if you've been living under a rock this week, we've summarised everything you need to know about the rogue rodent currently giving the run around to the keepers at Hoo Zoo.

Capybaras are the biggest rodents on earth and live throughout north and central South America. They can get up to 4.6 feet long and around two feet high at their shoulders.

By looking at them, it's no surprise that they’re closely related to guinea pigs, but these semi-aquatic rodents have webbed feet to help them thrive in forests and wetlands.

Cinnamon was bred at Hoo Zoo & Dinosaur World in Horton, Telford. She and her brother Churro were born exactly one year ago this week to parents Chimu and Chincha.

While the zoo made their plight public on Monday, Cinnamon made her grand escape last Friday.

Zoo owner, Will Dorrell, said the young - but giant - rodent managed to get out of her enclosure after slipping around the side of a tractor when staff entered to mow the grass inside.

She was then seen on Saturday evening, by which time she'd managed to get beyond the zoo's perimeter fence and was spotted on a nearby road.

By Monday, the zoo had taken to social media to ask for the public to keep an eye out for Cinnamon, and warned people not to approach her as she could become "unpredictable" if startled.

Over the next couple of days, a drone was called in to help track her down. As the search continued, Will reassured the public that the capybara was at little risk.

"There's lots of streams and ponds around the zoo, with loads of natural food so she's probably going to be living her best life," he said.

"She's not going to be in any danger at all, there's no natural predators so we're not concerned. She doesn't serve any risk to the public either, but if she's startled she's just going to run away, which will push her further away from home."

And living her best life she continued to do. Despite being spotted by a drone less than 200 metres from her home, Cinnamon continued to evade keepers in the "impenetrable undergrowth".

On Thursday, after another unsuccessful evening in the bushes, the search was paused after concerns were raised that she could move into the neighbouring MOD Donnington and be lost forever.

Again, the zoo reassured the watching world that Cinnamon was at little risk and in an area with plenty of food.

Commenting on Cinnamon's sudden fame, the zoo said they were "really touched and overwhelmed that Cinnamon has captured the hearts of so many people from all around the world."

They added: "We know that everyone wants a quick resolution to this but we are sure you can all agree that it's more important that we recapture Cinnamon with as little stress as possible and ensure she stays happy and healthy."