Arts & Culture

There's been an unverified report that the two missing capybaras have been seen at the Fork York Branch in the Digital Innovation Hub using the 3D printers to make masks (possibly to throw off search parties). 

TPL had earlier offered the capybaras sanctuary at the High Park Branch Library.

3D Design & Printing

Learn how to design and print a 3D object starting from an existing design, or create your own.

They may also have used the Recording Studio for the video filming and green screen technology to create and upload a YouTube video (maybe a cover Drake's Hotline Bling).

Recording Studio

Use our cameras, green screen, studio mics, and other audio, video, and photography equipment and software.

The capybaras asked about The Sun Life Financial Museum + Arts Pass (MAP) as they wanted to visit long lost relatives at the ROM. Staff explained all branches have passes for certain cultural institutions like Colborne Lodge in High Park but only 50 selected branches had ROM tickets and they were given a referral to Parkdale Branch. 

Ye Olde Howard's Homestead at High Park, Toronto, by F.W. Jopling

At Parkdale Branch the capybaras showed a lot of interest in borrowing a musical instrument from the Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library. They promised if they came across a gently used instrument in their travels they would consider donating it to the program. 

Instrument types

Classical and Acoustic Guitars

• Left and right-handed ½, ¾, and full-size guitars
• Soprano ukuleles
• Acoustic bass guitars
• Banjo
• Mandolin

Percussion

• Xylophone
• Cajon Box drum
• Doumbek
• Djembe African drum
• Bongo drum
• Dholak (South Asian hand drum)
• Tabla (Indian drum)

Strings

¼, ½, ¾, and full-size violins

Keyboards

• 61-note keyboard
• 88-note keyboard

The capybaras were last seen walking down Queen Street West back towards Grenadier Pond in High Park. Staff at Parkdale did warn them that the pond froze over in the winter but the capybaras seemed dubious and unwilling to give credence to the vintage photos they were shown from the TPL Digital Archive.

High Park, Grenadier Pond circa 1908

Meanwhile back at High Park Zoo the single male capybara is patiently waiting for the next act in this drama to unfold.  As you can see from the photo on John Tory's twitter account – "this is one lonely capybara"