Mary the Tasmanian devil makes public return after daring Gold Coast escape

A Tasmanian devil who escaped and spent two weeks on the run has made her return to her public enclosure.

The two-year-old, named Mary , captured Australian’s hearts after making an “abnormally large leap” to make her getaway from quarantine enclosure on the Gold Coast in the early hours of June 2.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Fugitive Tasmanian devil Mary returns to exhibit

Search efforts for Mary lasted more than two weeks, with locals sharing rare glimpses of the Tasmanian devil wandering across their driveways at night.

She was found dehydrated, underweight and suffering multiple injuries before being rushed to the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) for emergency treatment.

In the almost three months since her escape and capture, however, Mary has been slowly recovering from the ordeal at Paradise Country, a wildlife park in Oxenford.

Now the public can spot the daring Tasmanian devil back in her public enclosure thanks to regular physiotherapy and a diet of chicken and kangaroo.

Recent footage shows Mary confidently exploring the nooks and crannies of her enclosure — a massive improvement from when she was first returned to Paradise Country.

“It is so surreal seeing her back in her habitat again,” curator of native and exotic wildlife Lauren Mousley said.

“As soon as we opened the door to her nest box, she was immediately straight to exploring.”

Mosley said the three-month road to recovery has been “very, very long and quite difficult”.

“But she’s defied all the odds and with every week that passes, she just improves and improves,” she said, adding the milestone was “absolutely phenomenal”.

It comes just over a month after Mary was reintroduced to her companion, another Tasmanian devil named Mavca.

That reunion had to wait until Mary had recovered from her injuries enough to keep up with Mavca.