Zhuyuwan Scenic Spot in Yangzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province issues a reward notice on May 11, 2025, to track down a capybara named Doubao who escaped from its enclosure. Photo: Screenshot of the reward notice.
A capybara named Doubao escaped from its enclosure at the Zhuyuwan Scenic Spot in Yangzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province, on April 3 and has not returned since. The scenic area has issued a reward notice on May 11, drawing widespread attention from netizens.
Staff at the Zhuyuwan Scenic Spot told the Global Times on Tuesday that they have identified the area where Doubao is currently hiding—a swampy, reed-filled section of the park near the canal. Given the terrain and Doubao’s strong swimming abilities, conditions are not currently suitable for capture.
Fortunately, with mild spring temperatures and abundant vegetation, Doubao is in no immediate danger and is able to survive comfortably in the wild, the staff said.
According to official Wechat account of Yangzhou Fabu, the mastermind behind the great escape is another capybara named Bazong, who is typically seen as gentle and laid-back. Surveillance footage showed that in the early hours of April 3, Bazong broke a window of their enclosure with its head and led Doubao and another capybara named Duoduo on a daring escape.
The zookeepers launched an immediate search operation that morning. Bazong was the first to be found, leisurely swimming in a river within the park.
Duoduo lived up to its name—which means “to hide” in Chinese—by proving to be an expert at evasion. It slipped away into the southern canal and dove underwater whenever zookeepers approached, sometimes staying submerged for extended periods.
Keepers continued their search daily and finally spotted Duoduo again on the afternoon of April 30 and finally captured it. After nearly a month on the run, Duoduo had lost around 2 kilograms in weight, said the report.
Meanwhile, the zoo responded to online jokes about being the “stingiest zoo” in China after netizens poked fun at the low reward amount. In a post published on social media, the Zhuyuwan Scenic Spot clarified that it is not the most frugal zoo in the country and hinted that the reward might be increased in the future.
“While our reward offer may not be large, we’ve never cut corners when it comes to providing quality living conditions for our animals,” a zoo staff member explained. “Recently, we completed construction of new habitats, including the Chinese Pheasant Garden, the Capybara exhibit, the African Meerkat Zone, and the Groundhog exhibit.”
We also plan to build a native species area and upgrade our wolf and leopard habitats in the near future, the staff added.