Mary the Tassie Devil back home after recovering from escapade
Mary the Tassie Devil made headlines after she escaped her enclosure and ran wild on the Gold Coast. Now the mischievous marsupial is back at home after the adventure took its toll
READING LEVEL: GREEN
An escaping Tassie Devil that caused quite a stir in Queensland has made a full recovery after being found ill.
Mary the Tasmanian devil has made it out of rehab* and has settled back into her own enclosure three months after she leapt over a 1.4m fence and went on a two-week escapade* around the Gold Coast.
A Paradise Country statement confirmed that the daring animal, who made headlines back in June, had returned to her habitat within the wildlife park on Friday.
“Guests will be able to watch her mischievous antics as she explores the exhibit,” the Paradise Country spokesman said.
In June, Mary jumped over the fence which was keeping her inside her quarantined* habitat, launching a two-week-long search party.
Residents, volunteers and wildlife carers searched the streets for the elusive* Mary before she was eventually spotted on a driveway through home security footage.
Wildlife carers found her nearby and she was rushed to SASH Emergency Vet in Robina in a critical condition.
Mary spent six days in hospital suffering with brain inflammation*, couldn’t walk and only began eating on day three.
“It has been a long road to recovery for Mary, but we are incredibly pleased to see her back exploring her habitat so confidently,” Paradise Country curator* of wildlife Lauren Mousley said.
“Throughout her recovery, Mary has defied all the odds, with her improvements being phenomenal, and we can’t wait to welcome guests to the park to watch as the mischievous Mary explores.”
Ms Mousley said Mary had been spending time exploring her enclosure solo, with the long-awaited reunion with her companion Mavka still yet to happen.
“Our team have been so dedicated in supporting Mary throughout her recovery and it is amazing to see their reactions when she took her first steps back into the habitat,” she said.
“Mary has been an incredible ambassador* for her species, and with Tasmanian devils endangered, we hope when our guests visit they will become inspired to help conservation efforts to save the world’s largest surviving carnivorous* marsupial.”
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GLOSSARY
- rehab: a place to recover from illness or injury
- escapade: a wild, exciting or reckless adventure
- quarantined: an isolated, controlled environment designed to stop the transfer of biological material from outside to inside and vice versa
- elusive: hard to catch or find
- brain inflammation: swelling of the brain tissue caused by an infection
- curator: the person in charge of a specific animal department or the entire facility’s animal collection
- ambassador: a representative to raise awareness for a cause
- carnivorous: meat-eater
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QUICK QUIZ
1. How did Mary escape Paradise Country wildlife park?
2. How long was she missing?
3. How was she eventually tracked down?
4. Why did she have to spend six days in hospital after her adventure?
5. What type of animals are Tasmanian devils?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Mary’s Adventure Timeline
Create a circular timeline of Mary’s adventures from the day she escaped over the fence until she returned to her enclosure.
Include key details of each stage and how her recovery progressed to be able to return to her enclosure.
Write and draw your timeline below.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
Why do you think wildlife parks house animals outside their natural geographic range? Is it an advantage or disadvantage to do so?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article, or for the interview.
Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.
Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.