Baby capybara born in East Sussex zoo for first time in 11 years

Keepers at Drusillas Park are celebrating as a romantic Valentine’s meal they arranged for a pair of capybaras has resulted in the arrival of a baby girl – which was born on June 22.

A spokesperson from the zoo said: “Female Clementine spent several years searching for her Mr Right.

"A lady who refused to settle for just anyone, Clementine had rejected many potential suitors over the years, and keepers had almost given up hope of finding her a mate.

“Young stud Augustus came onto the scene at the end of last year, and determined to persuade Clementine of his worthy charms, keepers carried out very slow and careful introductions over the months that followed.”

Keepers had even arranged a romantic meal for the pair for Valentine’s Day, complete with white linen table setting, flowers, cloche and heart decorations.

Head keeper Gemma Romanis said: “We were over the moon to discover the new baby a couple of weeks ago, not only because it’s our first capybara pup in over a decade, but because everyone has been rooting for Clementine and Augustus – and our efforts to help them find love really worked.

“Clementine has been with us for a long time, and is very affectionate and loving with us, but in contrast had been very dismissive towards other capybaras we’ve tried to introduce over the years.

"When we saw a glimmer of hope in her behaviour towards Augustus, we did everything we could to encourage it.

"In a lovely turn of events the dates between the romantic meal to the arrival of the new baby, against the gestation period for capybaras, suggest that maybe our Valentine’s meal was even more of a success than we thought.”

The zoo said the new family of three is inseparable, barely parting more than a few steps from each other.

The spokesperson added: “Keepers have observed that the baby girl is healthy, lively and already very confident - showing she feels safe and secure under her parents’ careful watch.

"First-time parents Clementine and Augustus have taken completely naturally to their new duties.”