High Park Branch Offers Sanctuary to Capybaras
Who among us hasn't wanted to flee from a blind date gone bad?
Toronto Public Library wants to offer the two capybaras High Park branch as a refuge from their trials, in a spirit of fellowship and creating a warm welcoming environment.
While my grandmother spoke highly of her own arranged marriage, I'm not sure how she would have felt about the slightly sordid affair at High Park Zoo when a single male capybara was brought to meet (read mate!) two female capybaras. Faced with this situation, what choice did they have but to leave with their dignity intact a la Thelma and Louise (and who really can blame them)? The Zoo is trying to recapture them as of now.
My friend Mabel has also just informed me that in fact the escaped pair is a male and female pair so their burst for freedom is more Bonnie and Clyde and my puffery prose above is a bit misleading.
There was also an unconfirmed report that the capybaras had been seen at using the Digital Innovation Hub at Fort York Library.
_swimming.JPG "Capybara swimming by Charlesjsharp - own work from Sharp Photography sharpphotography via wiki creative commons")
By Charlesjsharp – Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44254295
High Park is a lovely branch celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2016. In addition to an English language collection, it offers a small adult and children's collection in French and a large collection of items in Polish. There is free wifi, Internet workstations (like all branches) and they also loan out pedometers.
High Park branch is a Carnegie-funded library building and one of three iconic and identical branches spearheaded by Chief Librarian George H. Locke that are celebrating a major milestone this year – Beaches and Wychwood are the other two branches. They were built in a pastiche of English medieval Tudor school style (big central hall open space) with wood beams/trusses and lots of white plaster.
If you're on Pinterest, you can view the many historical photos we have posted on a Carnegie Library board. Below are a few High Park branch photos, circa 1920s-40s.
High Park branch circa 1921-1922 by Muriel Page (later Ffoulkes) who was a children's librarian at High Park, Toronto Public Library from 1917 to 1922.
Toronto Public Library staff member Marjorie Bullard reads in the adult section, ensconced in the inglenook of the High Park branch's fireplace. This photograph was taken by her brother, Maurice, at Christmas-time in 1940. Marjorie worked in several branches in her 45 years of service, and retired from the Locke branch in 1973.
If you're interested in capybaras, you might like these two children's books:
The Picture Collection at the Arts Department of the Toronto Reference Library even has a file on capybaras – one of 32,000 files with a million images (and you can borrow from the Picture Collection).
Of course, we hope the two cabybaras are found safe but in the meantime, we also hope they're having a good time now with their freedom.
6 thoughts on “High Park Branch Offers Sanctuary to Capybaras”
I’ve looked everywhere for them, but no luck. Maybe they’ll show up in October when we have our special Centennial programs.
Too funny, Mr. V. I think there might be a rogue or retired staff member linked to the capybara caper. Of course furry critters have found a home in HP library on several occasions. I wonder what capybaras like to read ?
And is it tresses- or trusses ?
Depending on the theme, they may be holding out for Summer Reading Club.
The Capybaras may have tresses, High Park Library building has trusses. Thanks for your keen spelling eye and gentle nudge towards a correction. Much obliged.
YES, I was waiting for a post on these fellas.
I want to sit on a hard wooden bench in stockings and heels beside a roaring fire in my local library. Golly, I miss the old days.