A major search will continue today for a Tasmanian Devil that vanished from a popular Gold Coast wildlife park.
Paradise Country was forced to close on Tuesday after rangers discovered Mary missing from her secure indoor habitat at the Oxenford property.
It sparked an urgent park-wide manhunt for the animal, who remains at large this morning despite an overnight search using special thermal imaging equipment.
It’s understood staff noticed the pint-sized marsupial was missing during their routine morning checks.
Despite her habitat boasting top-tier security and zero signs of forced exit or structural damage, Mary somehow managed to slip away undetected.
“Following an extensive overnight search, including a dozen of our experienced Wildlife team on-ground being supported by a specialised drone operator with thermal imagery capabilities, Mary was unable to be located,” A Village Roadshow spokesperson said.
“Our priority remains on relocating Mary to ensure her welfare, and we will continue to search the property and are investigating additional resources to assist finding her.
“We are continuing to work with relevant agencies but also ask members of the public in the Kopps Road area to report any sightings to Wildcare, and to not approach or attempt to capture to avoid risk of injury to Mary or themselves.”
Vision supplied to Hot Tomato shows the moment Mary escaped her enclosure, with the animal seen roaming around the park before she vanished.
The park confirmed that “due to the thorough and extensive search efforts being undertaken” it will reopen as scheduled today.
In the meantime, Biosecurity Queensland has been notified, and authorities are on standby for what everyone hopes will be a swift, safe return for the Gold Coast’s newest little fugitive.
