Missing Paradise Country Tasmanian devil Mary found alive on Gold Coast in unstable condition

The missing Tasmanian devil that captivated Australia has been found alive after weeks on the run, but wildlife carers say she was in an unstable condition when rescuers finally tracked her down.

Mary was located on Tuesday night by the Paradise Country Wildlife team in bushland off Kopps Rd on the Gold Coast, less than two kilometres from the park where she escaped.

Staff discovered her missing on Tuesday, June 2, after CCTV captured her roaming the park at about 4am that morning.

The two-year-old Tasmanian devil escaped by performing what wildlife keepers described as an “abnormally large leap” over a 1.4m fence surrounding her quarantine enclosure.

“Tassie Devils escaping is a rare event. I can count them on one hand over the last 30 years,” said University of Queensland adjunct associate professor of environmental science Al Nucci, who advised wildlife crews during the search.

Mary had arrived at the theme park alongside fellow Tasmanian devil Mavka as part of broader conservation efforts for the endangered species, which is native to Tasmania and not found in the wild on mainland Australia.

Her escape followed an extensive search effort involving drone tracking, field searches and geographical projection modelling to narrow down her possible movements.  

Wildlife keepers, drone operators and volunteers spent days combing dense bushland around the park, setting humane traps and scanning through the night with thermal imaging technology.

During the search, there were encouraging signs Mary had been finding food while on the run, with multiple sightings captured on home security cameras across the area.

Now, she was found in dense Oxenford bushland, within the same reserve search crews and sniffer dogs had been combing a fortnight ago.

But the relief of finding Mary was tempered by concerns for her health.

“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 stabilise her condition,” Paradise Country said in a statement.

Mary remains under the care of veterinary specialists, with further diagnostics planned.

“Paradise Country’s experienced wildlife team are continuing to support and care for Mary who is currently stable and remaining in the veterinary hospital to allow specialists to conduct further diagnostic testing,” the park said.

Nucci said weeks in unfamiliar bushland would have taken a toll on the captive-bred animal.

“In a captive environment, Mary gets treated like a princess,” he said.

“So she would get the best quality food, the best care and everything. Then going to nothing is a complete two different ordeals.

“She’s not the first juvenile to escape but probably the first juvenile devil to be away from her home for so long.

“Weeks cruising around the bushland area does take a toll.”

The endangered marsupial’s disappearance sparked widespread public interest, generating headlines across the country and inspiring a flood of memes, AI-generated images and social media speculation.

“The two key threats for her while she was out in the wild would have been car strike and dog attack,” Nucci said.

“Fortunately, neither of those two happened.”

Search crews had spent days combing nearby bushland and reviewing CCTV footage in a bid to locate the elusive animal.

Nucci said Mary’s survival highlighted the species’ resilience.

“It just shows you how tenacious Tassie devils really are, that they can survive like that for so long,” he said.

And after evading search crews for over two weeks, Nucci said Mary had shown plenty of personality.

“She’s only two years old. Pretty cheeky for that age, isn’t it?

“Especially to be able to break out of an enclosure that is designed to hold Tassie Devils.”

.