Footage of animal wrestling snake into river near Bellingen sparks suggestions Tasmanian devils survived on mainland

A woman who captured video of an animal wrestling a snake on the NSW Mid-North Coast “just wanted to know what it was”, but wasn’t prepared for the reaction.

A woman who captured video of a dark furred animal wrestling a snake into a river on the Mid-North Coast “just wanted to know what it was” when she shared the video on social media, but wasn’t prepared for the reaction she got.

Lauren Passias was walking alone along the Never Never River near Bellingen recently when she heard a “loud rustling” on the riverbank.

She noticed bushes shaking, thought it must be something relatively large and started filming.

“I’m new to the country so I’m not familiar with the wildlife here,” she said.

Ms Passias is from California, but lives in Australia after marrying Simon Melnyk and settling on the Central Coast.

Lauren Passias was out walking along the river near Bellinging on the NSW Mid-North Coast when she captured the video.

She is a somatic therapist, which she describes as “body based therapy”, and would one day like to call Bellingen home.

So, she was exploring and came across the snake wrestling with an animal she could not identify.

She’s heard of Australia’s international reputation for deadly creatures, but was not scared and more intent on capturing what was happening.

Lauren’s husband Simon Melnyk has fun designing the YouTube cover for the video.

After showing her video to her in-laws, Ms Passias still had no idea what she was looking at and decided to share footage on a Mid-North Coast community Facebook page.

“I’ve been quite overwhelmed with the variety of suggestions that came through,” she said.

“I’ve learnt a lot about the animals it could be.”

People suggested everything from a tree kangaroo to a goanna. The most common suggestion was a Tasmanian devil, despite them being considered extinct on the mainland.

Captive bred Tasmanian devil joeys.

Reliable fossil evidence suggests they became extinct from the mainland between 3200 and 3500 years ago, according to the Australian Museum.

But just like the Tasmanian tiger, people are convinced the devils are still out there.

The Devil Ark was established in the Barrington Tops in 2011 to try and save the population of Tasmanian devils from extinction due to the devastating Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

Lily Fowler from the Devil Ark – now known as the Aussie Ark due to its expanded role in protecting other species – says they get calls “all the freakin’ time” from people thinking they’ve seen Tassie devils on the mainland.

“People don’t understand they are extinct – there is a lot of confusion,” she said.

Spotted-tail quolls are often a light brown/chestnut colour. Picture: Halls Gap Zoo

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment was asked for its opinion on the animal captured wrestling the snake.

“While not very clear, it’s possible it may be a dark form spotted-tail quoll,” a spokesperson said.

The spotted-tail quoll is endangered on the mainland and listed as vulnerable in Australia. It often has lighter brown to orange colouration.

The animal featured in Lauren’s video has darker fur, which may have lead to the Tasmanian devil suggestions.

People responding to Lauren’s video on Facebook urged her to publish it on YouTube.

The video has racked up more than 2,420 views.

“I certainly didn’t expect this reaction,” Ms Passias said.