{"id":918047,"date":"2026-10-06T10:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/918047\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T10:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:06:16","slug":"narrabri-giant-pink-slug-monument-how-the-nsw-town-plans-to-celebrate-the-endangered-mount-kaputar-land-mollusc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/918047\/","title":{"rendered":"Narrabri giant pink slug monument: How the NSW town plans to celebrate the endangered Mount Kaputar land mollusc"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"David<\/p>\n

October 6, 2026 \u2014 3:50pm<\/p>\n

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Australia has embraced the Big Banana, paid homage to the Big Pineapple and marvelled at giant trout and the Big Mower.<\/p>\n

Now the northern NSW town of Narrabri believes it has found the next contender to join the nation\u2019s quirky collection of roadside attractions: a spectacular fluorescent-pink slug found nowhere else on Earth.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe species can grow up to 20 centimetres in length.<\/p>\n

The Narrabri community is rallying behind plans by the shire council to create a larger-than-life monument to celebrate one of Australia\u2019s most unusual creatures and boost tourism to the town of about 5500 residents.<\/p>\n

The proposed monument would shine a spotlight on the endangered Mount Kaputar pink slug, a land mollusc found exclusively in the high-altitude subalpine forests atop Mount Kaputar, an extinct volcano about 50 kilometres east of Narrabri.<\/p>\n

Known to be notoriously elusive and emerging only in wet, misty conditions, the slugs have been observed to grow up to 20 centimetres in length and carry fluorescent hot-pink colouring \u2013 making them one of Australia\u2019s most distinct creatures.<\/p>\n

The species was feared to have been wiped out during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, disappearing from observations for several years.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe species is only found within the Mount Kaputar National Park.<\/p>\n

However, subsequent field surveys by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service confirmed that small populations had survived on isolated rock faces near the summit. The rediscovery prompted the launch of the Slug Sleuth mobile app, enabling citizen scientists to record rare sightings.<\/p>\n

Now the species could be making a comeback larger than anyone thought possible with Narrabri Shire Council working to bring the idea of a giant Mount Kaputar slug monument to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a big country, we love our big things and we think it would neatly fit into Australia\u2019s eccentric collection of oversized attractions,\u201d Narrabri Shire Mayor Darrell Tiemens said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though it\u2019s highly rare to see them, I\u2019ve had the honour and privilege of spotting them twice and it\u2019s not until you see them that you realise just how brightly coloured and spectacular this species is.<\/p>\n

\"AA concept design of what the monument could look like with work yet to take place to determine the final design.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey may not be as cuddly as koalas or platypuses, but they are so unique [and] having a monument in their honour would be a great way of celebrating the wonderful wildlife we have in our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with drawing attention to the region\u2019s unique environment and ecology, Tiemens said the monument could strengthen Narrabri as a tourism destination in its own right.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we\u2019re on the Newell Highway, we tend to be a pit stop for a lot of travellers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be known as more than just a place where you can fill up the car and stop for McDonald\u2019s. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe species was thought to have been wiped out in 2019-20 when its habitat was hit by bushfires.<\/p>\n

The idea for the monument originated more than 600 kilometres away in Sydney, where Randwick councillor Alexandra Luxford proposed it as part of the two councils\u2019 sister-city relationship. Randwick Council has now working to help Narrabri pursue grants and funding.<\/p>\n

Tiemens said the final size of the sculpture would depend on the money raised, with the council considering a monument between 10 and 20 metres long, or potentially larger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very mindful that it should be done tastefully as an iconic art piece rather than in a tacky, touristy way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we really think it\u2019s a way of encouraging more people to explore the amazing environment we have in Australia and the wildlife that exists nowhere else on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"DavidDavid Barwell<\/a> is an urban affairs reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October 6, 2026 \u2014 3:50pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":918048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-918047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}