Tasmanian devil Mary has returned to her wildlife park after spending several days in specialist care following her dramatic capture after more than two weeks on the run. Mary returned to Paradise Country on the Gold Coast on Monday after several days of specialist treatment and round-the-clock care following her rescue from dense Oxenford bushland.
Medical Progress and Ongoing Care
The two-year-old was discharged from the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) on Monday after making steady progress. She is now continuing her recovery under round-the-clock care at the wildlife park.
Paradise Country curator of wildlife Lauren Mousley said, “She’s currently recovering in the Vet Centre and we’re essentially continuing her 24-7 care with our veterinary team and our wildlife team.” Mary remains stable and is undergoing a targeted treatment plan including medication, a managed diet and physiotherapy. While she still requires significant support and is not yet able to move independently, carers say she has become increasingly active. “A lot of her care is feeding her and then supporting her while she gets the zoomies around her recovery area,” Mousley said.
Diet and Fighting Spirit
Mousley said Mary was currently eating an exclusive diet of kangaroo meat, her favourite food. The endangered marsupial had made encouraging progress since being found in an unstable condition in bushland last week. “While Mary is not out of the woods yet, this is a positive development and we are pleased to welcome her back to Paradise Country, with our wildlife and vet teams continuing to care and support her,” she said. “Throughout her recovery, Mary has showed a fighting spirit, and it is lovely to see the improvements in her condition.”
Veterinary Assessment
Village Roadshow Theme Parks head veterinarian Dr Claire Madden confirmed Mary had shown significant improvement over the past two days. “We’ve seen some really good return of normal mentation (medical activity),” she said, “so her demeanour’s looking much more devil-like and more normal.” Madden said Mary’s neurological condition was also improving. “We’re seeing much greater strength and coordination as she uses those limbs,” she said. “She’s certainly not normal yet; she certainly is well and truly still within the recovery phase of her condition, but very pleased to report that she’s had a promising weekend. The team at SASH have been amazing supporting us through Mary’s initial critical care stage and their specialist team and equipment were vital in her diagnosis and recovery.”
Cautious Optimism
Madden said specialists remained cautiously optimistic. “We don’t know what the future looks like for Mary,” she said. “She’s ticking all of the boxes that we expect her to tick and we have some confidence in Mary’s recovery.”
Dramatic Escape and Capture
Mary’s disappearance captured national attention after she escaped from her quarantine enclosure at Paradise Country in the early hours of June 2. Wildlife keepers said the young Tasmanian devil managed an “abnormally large leap” over a 1.4m fence before disappearing into surrounding bushland. She had recently arrived at the Gold Coast wildlife park alongside fellow Tasmanian devil Mavka as part of a conservation program for the endangered species. The search effort involved wildlife keepers, volunteers, drone operators and specialist tracking teams, who spent weeks combing dense bushland, reviewing CCTV footage and deploying thermal imaging technology. Mary was eventually found on Tuesday night in dense bushland in an unstable condition less than two kilometres from the park, in the same reserve search crews and sniffer dogs had focused on earlier in the operation.
Rewarding Return
For the team spending weeks searching for her and days nursing her back to health, Mary’s return has been a welcome reward. “It’s absolutely amazing for everybody that’s been involved with Mary’s search efforts right through to the 24-7 care that we’ve been providing her,” Madden said. “Everyone deserves this win, but most importantly Mary deserves it.”
