Authorities recaptured Mary, a two-year-old Tasmanian devil, after she spent two weeks on the run from a Gold Coast wildlife park [1], [3].
The recovery of the animal marks the end of a search that mobilized multiple high-tech resources to ensure the safety of the endangered species and the local community.
Mary escaped from the Paradise Country wildlife park at 4 a.m. [5]. The escape prompted an operation to locate the animal, with wildlife crews utilizing CCTV footage, sniffer dogs, and drones to track her movements [5].
Search teams located the animal on Tuesday night, June 2, 2024 [4]. Mary was found alive in bushland off Kopps Road on the Gold Coast in Queensland [2]. The location was less than two kilometers from the Paradise Country park [2].
Officials said Mary was in unstable condition at the time of her recapture [5]. She was taken in for care following the two-week search [1].
The operation involved a coordinated effort between park staff and external wildlife crews to secure the animal before she could wander further into residential or developed areas of the Gold Coast [5].
“Mary was found alive in bushland off Kopps Road on the Gold Coast”
The recapture of Mary highlights the difficulties of tracking small, nocturnal marsupials in dense bushland. While the animal remained within a small radius of the park, her unstable condition upon recovery suggests that the environment outside a controlled wildlife sanctuary poses immediate survival risks to specialized species.
