June 17 (UPI) — A Tasmanian devil that escaped from a Queensland zoo was located about a mile from the park more than two weeks later.
The marsupial, named Mary, sparked a large-scale search involving humans, dogs and drones after her June 2 escape from Paradise Country in the Oxenford suburb of Gold Coast.
Mary was spotted a few days later on a suburban resident’s home security camera near the Saltwater Creek Reserve.
A spokesperson for Village Roadshow, which operates Paradise Country, said Mary was found Tuesday night in a wilderness area about a mile from the park.
“Upon finding her, Mary was in an unstable condition, and the team assessed and determined she required veterinary care and rushed her to a specialist veterinary hospital where they were able to stabilize her condition,” the spokesperson said in a statement provided to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Mary arrived at Paradise Country in May and was still in a quarantine enclosure when she escaped.
Lauren Mousley, the park’s curator of native and exotic wildlife, said Mary’s means of escape from her quarantine enclosure are “a bit of mystery,” but zookeepers suspect “an abnormally large leap” was involved.
Village Roadshow said Mary remained under veterinary supervision Wednesday.
Tasmanian devils no longer live in the wild on the Australian mainland, and fewer than 25,000 remain in the wild in Tasmania.
