A search is under way on Queensland’s Gold Coast for a missing Tasmanian devil who escaped her enclosure in a daring early morning dash caught on camera.
The devil, named Mary, did a Houdini from the Paradise Country theme park, escaping from quarantine in the early hours of Tuesday.
CCTV cameras caught the carnivorous marsupial skulking around deserted grounds at 4am that morning – before she scampered out of frame.
As of Wednesday afternoon, despite a dozen of the park’s wildlife team scouring the area – alongside a drone operator with thermal imaging capabilities – Mary remained on the lam.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailSo how did Mary escape? Paradise Country curator of animals, Lauren Mousley, says that remains “a bit of mystery”.
“At the moment, we do think that an abnormally large leap has happened – and that is how she has breached out of her quarantine area,” she says in a video interview released by the Village Roadshow, which operates several theme parks on the Gold Coast.
Mousley says staff were not only shocked that an animal had escaped when they made the discovery at about 7.30am on Tuesday – they couldn’t believe it was Mary.
Mary and her companion, Mavka, were not long arrived from a zoological facility in New South Wales, according to a spokesperson.
Mary is two, Mousley says, an age at which devils “can be a little bit more adventurous”.
“But – we’ve only known her a short period of time – and what we do know about her is that she is extremely shy and, when there is movement, she tends to bunker down,” the zookeeper says.
“So finding that she was the one that, uh, headed out, is very, very abnormal, given her demeanour”.
Nonetheless, Mousley warns the public against approaching Mary.
“We have conducted a full perimeter search of Paradise Country – but if people do locate her outside the perimeter, they are encouraged to call Wildcare on their hotline number [07 5527 2444],” she says.
“Do not approach the animal. Devils can be reactive if they are provoked or if anyone attempts to catch them. So please call Wildcare”.
McCallum says it is not only overly inquisitive humans to whom Mary could pose a risk.
“Devils are not only scavengers, they do actively hunt,” the Tasmanian devil facial tumour expert says. “If I were a brush tailed possum … I’d be a bit nervous,”
Stray cats and foxes, too, may be feeling a little on edge. Which is precisely the reason why some have proposed the native carnivores be brought back to mainland Australia.
Devils inhabited the continent until somewhere between 500 and 5,000 years ago. Some conservationists argue rewilding the mainland would suppress cat and fox numbers – invasive predators that have decimated small to medium-sized native mammals, not to mention birds and reptiles.
Hence then, the article about where the devil is mary search under way after tasmanian marsupial escapes gold coast wildlife park was published today ( ) and is available on NY Times News ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Where the devil is Mary? Search under way after Tasmanian marsupial escapes Gold Coast wildlife park )
Also on site :
- Trump berated Netanyahu? Analysts question US-Israel feud rumours
- Iran war live: US strikes Iran’s Qeshm, says Tehran attacks Kuwait, Bahrain
- Dunkin's New Limited-Edition Tumbler Is Guaranteed to Fly Off Shelves — How to Secure Yours