The award-winning wildlife park in Doncaster has welcomed two capybara brothers from the Netherlands.
Chip and Dale have travelled from the Gaia Zoo in the Netherlands to their new home in the Amazonas Reserve at the wildlife park.
The duo were born on 9 June 2025, and arrived at the zoo last Tuesday.
They were allowed outside just days after their arrival as they both settled quickly into their new home.
Dr Charlotte MacDonald, Director of Animals at the zoo, said: “We are delighted to welcome Chip and Dale to the park.
“They have settled in well after their long journey. We let them outside and they had a good look around before heading straight back into their house.”
The brotherly duo have been a big hit at the park because of their laidback attitude.
The Amazon reserve in the Wildlife park is designed to transport visitors to the Amazon rainforest and is home to some incredible South American species.
Dr MaDonald said: “The capybaras will live amongst our monkeys – golden lion tamarins, silvery marmosets, red titi monkeys and other South American rodents, the Mara and agouti.
“Capybaras are very sociable animals, and we are sure that they will be very popular amongst visitors.”
Capybaras are closely related to guinea pigs. They are the world’s largest rodents and are considered to be extremely sociable.
With partially webbed feet and big thick bodies, they spend a lot of time in the water and can remain submerged for up to five minutes. They often submerge in water to avoid predators and can even sleep underwater by leaving their nostrils poking out of the surface to breathe.
Visitors walk amongst the animals on pathways that loop through the large reserve in the zoo with the animals able to come and go as they please.
The Doncaster based Wildlife Park has recently been named as one of the best UK attractions.
Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which puts conservation at the heart of all its activities, offers an unrivalled walk-through experience coming almost face-to-face with some of the world’s most beautiful and rare species including Amur Tigers, Giraffes, Black Rhinos and Polar Bears.