Wellington Zoo's last Capybara, Fernando, dies

Wellington Zoo says its last capybara, Fernando, has been euthanised.

Fernando moved to Wellington Zoo from New Plymouth's Brooklands Zoo in hopes of breeding with the zoo's female capybara, Dia.

Dia unexpectedly died in March.

The zoo said it had been monitoring Fernando's welfare in the months since Dia's death.

"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 zoo said in a post on Facebook.

It said staff looked to transfer Fernando to another zoo, but none had the resources to care for him

"Fernando was the last Capybara at Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo," it said.

"There are no plans to bring more capybara to the Zoo in the immediate future."