Banksy-style artworks depicting a capybara have started appearing on pubs near a zoo where one of the giant rodents is on the loose.

Pub managers near Marwell Zoo say they have been puzzled by capybara murals appearing overnight.

Staff found the murals of the covert capybara with a parachute on its back painted on the side of two pubs in Hampshire when they started their shift.

It is thought to be a bizarre homage to Samba the capybara, who escaped from Marwell Zoo last month and is still on the run.

Nine-month-old Samba escaped from Marwell Zoo, near Southampton in Hampshire, on March 17, prompting huge search efforts involving thermal drones and a specialist sniffer dog.

Marwell Zoo said that despite following up on several reported sightings, Samba remains on the loose.

Samba arrived at the zoo on March 16 after being transferred from Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park in Suffolk, but escaped the following day along with her sister Tango.

While Tango was quickly found nearby, Samba, described as the ‘more adventurous’ of the pair, could not be located.

Now, two Banksy-style murals have been found on pubs near Marwell in Southampton and Portsmouth.

A stencil was painted onto The A Bar, in Portsmouth, just weeks after an identical painting appeared on the wall at London Road Brew House, in Southampton, with the same tag.

Within the mural is the artist tag ‘Pidg’, which seemingly takes credit for The A Bar’s latest addition, but the identity of the creator remains unknown.

A spokesperson for The A Bar said: ‘It’s just above the flat roof, so the team arrived early this morning, so they saw it straight away and looked at the CCTV.

‘It was just before 3 o’clock this morning, and it was a masked person who was wearing a high-vis, and was carrying a bucket and a step ladder. I think it’s really fitting because it’s been prominent in the local news with Samba the capybara making the headlines.

‘There is definitely some excitement around it, and we don’t see it as ‘we’ve been targeted,’ but we think it’s really sweet and capybaras are so cute, so we aren’t mad about it. It isn’t massive or offensive.’

Skye Stevens, who works at the London Brew House pub and found the painting, said: ‘It must have appeared overnight. I think he’s adorable.

‘I sent it to the group chat, though, and they loved it. We’ve named him Banksy-bara.’

Marwell Zoo has said that they are still committed to finding Samba and have encouraged the public to report any sightings to the staff.

A spokesperson for Marwell Zoo said: ‘Our teams remain fully committed and continue to carry out extensive searches both day and night. We are still using specialist tracking dogs, thermal drone technology, and camera traps in key areas where Samba is most likely to travel, particularly along waterways and dense vegetation.

‘While this is a challenging search due to the size of the area and Samba’s natural instincts to stay hidden, we are not giving up and remain focused on bringing her home safely.’

Anyone who believes they have seen Samba is asked to contact the zoo on a dedicated 24-hour hotline at 07436 167401.