The search for missing Tasmanian devil Mary is intensifying again, with sniffer dogs, thermal drones and wildlife teams narrowing in on bushland where fresh signs of the escaped marsupial have been found.
Paradise Country said crews searching through the Kopps Rd area at Oxenford, Gold Coast, located fresh droppings overnight, adding to several reported credible sightings helping authorities map Mary’s movements after she vanished from the wildlife park earlier this week.
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The two-year-old Tasmanian devil has been missing since early Tuesday morning after performing what wildlife keepers described as an “abnormally large leap” over a 1.4m fence surrounding her quarantine enclosure.
Since then, teams of wildlife keepers, drone operators and volunteers have been combing dense bushland surrounding the park, setting humane traps and scanning through the night using thermal imaging technology.
Paradise Country curator of wildlife Lauren Mousley said crews remained hopeful Mary would soon be safely returned home.
“We have had some positive signs with recent credible sightings and the sniffer dog locating fresh faecal off Kopps Rd overnight which have helped us triangulate our search efforts which are ongoing,” Mousley said.
“Our team have been working diligently throughout all hours of the day and night, and based on her recent movements we are focussing our efforts on an area of bushland off Kopps Road where we searched until midnight last night while also placing baited humane animal capture devices which we hope will attract her.”
About 15 to 20 wildlife keepers from Paradise Country and other southeast Queensland wildlife parks are involved in the operation, supported by thermal imagery drones and sniffer dogs.
The search has steadily expanded beyond the park grounds following repeated sightings behind Paradise Country and Warner Bros. Movie World.
Wildcare first received reports of Mary in the area on Tuesday night, prompting drone teams to search nearby bushland.
A sniffer dog picked up her scent on Wednesday, with another credible sighting reported later that night.
Crews returned to the same area again on Thursday after more signs of Mary were discovered.
“While there are some residential areas nearby, we believe Mary will remain in the bushland area which is ideal environment for Tasmanian Devils,” Mousley said.
“However if the community do sight Mary we ask them to not approach or attempt to capture to avoid risk of injury to Mary or themselves, but to report it immediately.”
Mary recently 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.
CCTV captured the shy marsupial sprinting across the park grounds shortly after 4am on Tuesday after escaping her enclosure.
Mousley previously said Mary’s disappearance stunned experienced keepers because of her timid nature.
“What we do know about her is that she’s extremely shy and when there is movement she tends to bunker down,” she said earlier this week.
“So finding that she was the one that headed out is very, very abnormal given her demeanour.”
Dozens of humane animal traps have now been deployed across the search zone, with trail cameras also being trialled from Friday night as crews step up efforts find Mary.
