It glows hot pink, it lives on one mountain near Narrabri, and now the whole world wants a look. Mount Kaputar’s rare pink slug is heading for the big time, with a giant monument on the cards thanks to some help from the city.
It all took off after Randwick City Council backed a plan for a giant slug sculpture. Randwick councillor Alexandra Luxford put it forward as part of the two councils’ sister-city relationship, and Mayor Tiemens spoke to the motion by video link last week. The story has now gone around the world, picked up by the likes of People magazine and many other news outlets all curious about the possibility of a giant pink slug.
The idea began over dinner at the annual Australian local government conference, where the two sister councils catch up every year. This year Narrabri gave every Randwick councillor a silicone pink slug about 10 centimetres long.
“We gave it as a gift in a in a packet, and these councilors were just blown away by it. They were like kids, and they were going, ‘Hang on, what? What is this?’,” he said
“And we had to explain that it’s a unique animal that exists nowhere else on the planet, and everyone thought it was extinct until a few years ago when they found them again.”
The city councillors loved it, looking at photos and videos of the slugs on Mayor Tiemen’s phone. And Cr Luxford ran with it right through to putting up the motion, which earned unanimous support from Randwick City Councillors.
Mayor Tiemens explained that Narrabri Shire Council has a tight budget, with big expenses in managing roads and services city councils rarely have to worry about, and they would never be able to justify funding or something like a giant slug. So Randwick will help chase grants, funding, philanthropists, and not-for-profits to help the giant slug idea become a reality.
“We’re a big country, we love our big things and we think it would neatly fit into Australia’s eccentric collection of oversized attractions,” Mayor Tiemens said.
The monument could be between 10 and 20 metres long, or even bigger, depending on the money raised. (The above image is just some AI fun.)
“We’re very mindful that it should be done tastefully as an iconic art piece rather than in a tacky, touristy way,” he said.
The real thing is a survivor. The endangered slug lives only in the high-altitude subalpine forests of Mount Kaputar National Park. The extinct volcano is about 50 kilometres east of Narrabri and rises more than 1,500 metres above the surrounding plains. The slug can grow up to 20 centimetres long.
It was feared lost after the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20.
“There was a lot of nervousness that the slugs had been wiped out because the fires burned around exactly where those slugs are,” he said.
Surveys by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service later found small populations on isolated rock faces near the summit. The find led to the Slug Sleuth app, which lets citizen scientists record sightings.
Mayor Tiemens is a frequent seeker of the slug and has plenty of advice for those wanting to get a glimpse of the rare creature.
“The perfect conditions are when it is dreary, grey and misty,” he said.
“If there’s even a glimpse of sun, they don’t usually come out.”
Mayor Tiemens said the giant slug tourist attraction could turn Narrabri from a pit stop into a destination.
“Because we’re on the Newell Highway, we tend to be a pit stop for a lot of travellers,” he said.
“We want to be known as a destination where you can stay for a few days, explore the national park and learn about our environment.”
“At the end of the day, we really think it’s a way of encouraging more people to explore the amazing environment we have in Australia and the wildlife that exists nowhere else on Earth.”
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