'Very sad': Wellington Zoo's last capybara, Fernando, has died

Wellington Zoo has farewelled its last capybara, Fernando, after making the heartbreaking decision to euthanise him due to declining health.

Fernando arrived at the zoo from New Plymouth's Brooklands Zoo with hopes he'd breed with Wellington's with resident capybara Dia.

Sadly, Dia died unexpectedly in March, leaving seven-year-old Fernando as the zoo's only capybara.

In a post shared to Facebook, Wellington Zoo said staff had been closely monitoring Fernando's wellbeing since.

"In the four months since Fernando had been living solo, his Keepers have closely monitored his welfare. Options were explored to transfer him to another New Zealand Zoo, however no other facility had the room or resource to care for him, or an existing Capybara herd he could safely slot into.," they wrote.

Sadly, Fernando's quality of life and health sharply dropped over the last few weeks, and the decision was made to euthanise him on welfare grounds.

The post continued: "A decision like this is made solely based on the careful consideration for the health and wellbeing of the animal."

"As a progressive Zoo, Te Nukuao utilises the Five Domains of Animal Welfare Model – Nutrition, Environment, Health, Behaviour and Mental State – to ensure the animals we care for live happy and healthy lives for as long as we have the privilege of caring for them."

With Fernando's passing, Wellington Zoo no longer has any capybaras, and says there are no plans to bring more to the zoo anytime soon.

If you're still hoping to see a capybara in Aotearoa, Christchurch's Willowbank Wildlife Reserve is home to a family of them - Pablo, Maria and Delores and a separate Fernando.

Twin siblings Fernando and Delores were born there back in 2023, and if you've never seen a baby capybara before, they were ridiculously cute.

Wellington Zoo has asked for kindness and compassion towards staff, following their Fernando's passing.