A two-year-old Tasmanian devil that escaped from a Gold Coast wildlife park has been caught on a home security camera roaming through a suburban yard around 2 kilometres from where she broke free.
The devil, named Mary, was spotted on Sunday night after being on the loose for a week.
She escaped from Paradise Country wildlife park last Tuesday by making what staff described as an “abnormally large leap” from her enclosure.
More than a dozen staff and specialists have been searching for the marsupial, using sniffer dogs and thermal drone technology to try to track her down.
A spokesperson for Paradise Country said the sightings were crucial in helping the team narrow the search area but that Mary had been “quite elusive”.
The new footage is the clearest sign yet that Mary has adapted well to life in the Queensland wild, more than 2,000 kilometres from her native Tasmanian home.
The sighting has allowed carers to triangulate a search zone that backs onto the Saltwater Creek Reserve.
Humane traps have been placed nearby in anticipation of Mary’s movements.
Carers have also found devil droppings in the surrounding bushland, along with the remnants of kangaroo and wallaby carcasses.
Experts say Mary’s biggest threat is being hit by a car, but as long as she has access to food she should otherwise survive.
