In the News

"Strange animal identified"

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BROOKLIN -- A few readers thought it was a wallaby. Some guessed it was a capybara. One reader said she heard from a girlfriend that her rabbit had mated with her cat and had two babies that survived. She thought, perhaps this was one of them.

But Molly -- the mystery animal Paul Cyr spotted north of Brooklin last week -- is a Patagonian Cavy or Mara native to Argentina, just as more than 20 readers hypothesized.

She comes from Nova's Ark, an exotic animal farm north of Brooklin. The facility is a registered charity which provides a place for children with disabilities and their families to hang out with the animals.

So how did Molly escape from Nova's Ark?

On Sunday, May 18, about 50 student volunteers visited the farm to help Mary-Ann Nova run programs for the kids with special needs as they do every Sunday.

"With everyone hustling back and forth and such, there is always a chance something will head out the gate," said Ms. Nova.

And on that Sunday Molly got out of her pen, which she shares with Sydney the wallaby and Bambi the deer. She ran into the horse paddock, where normally she would have been scooped up and put back in her home, Ms. Nova said.

But there were coyotes in the paddock and they started to chase Molly. Ms. Nova thought Molly was caught by the pack of coyotes until she heard of Molly sightings.

Ms. Nova has gotten within three feet of Molly since her escape but she hasn't been able to catch her with the net she brings in her searches.

Molly is still close to home. She's currently staying around a 10-acre property close to the farm. Every day at sunrise and sunset for the past two weeks Ms. Nova goes out looking for Molly.

"Right now life is good, she's got lots of grass, a pond, a forest," Ms. Nova said.

But she is hoping to catch Molly soon because as the summer wears on and food supplies dwindle the coyotes are going to be on the prowl for Molly, Ms. Nova said.

Ms. Nova said she will not use a snare to trap Molly because her legs are fragile and could break easily. She may set out a wolf enclosure soon and try to attract Molly into it with her favourite fruits and vegetables, said Ms. Nova.

The Patagonian Cavy is also known as the Patagonian Mara. It is a large rodent which is one of the world's few monogamous mammals, according to Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington D.C.

Credit: mmancini@durhamregion.com