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| Tasmanian Devil (Photo: Devil Ark website) |
Tasmanian
Devils (Sarcophilus harisii) are facing extinction because of the highly contagious Devil Facial
Tumour Disease (DFTD) which was first diagnosed over 20 years ago.
Since
then it has been estimated that populations affected by the spreading disease
have declined by more than 90%. DFTD is characterised by cancers around the
head and neck which make it difficult for the animals to eat with death
resulting from starvation and the breakdown of bodily functions from the cancer.
The
rapid spread of the disease led in 2005 to the development of the Save the
Tasmanian Devil Program – an initiative of the Federal and Tasmanian
Governments. A major component of the program has been the establishment of
captive populations of Devils in around 30 wildlife parks and zoos around the
country and a few overseas in New Zealand and the United States. The Devils in
these facilities will serve as insurance populations which it is hoped can be
used to repopulate Tasmania once the disease has run its course.
Devil Ark
at Barrington Tops about three hours north of Sydney is
one of these facilities. It was founded in 2011 with 44 animals on 25 hectares
of donated land which replicates the natural Tasmanian environment.
Devil
Ark’s success in breeding has led to an increase in population to 180. In 2015 22 Devils bred there were
reintroduced to Tasmania on the Forestier Peninsula which is fenced off from
the mainland. Since then some of these animals have bred and weaned young.
Devil
Ark is seeking to double its population by 2020. To do this it needs to raise $1.5
million. It has already received a
$250,000 grant from Global Wildlife Conservation, a US organisation, and is
hoping to raise more through donations.
The insurance
populations in facilities like Devil Ark are reasons for optimism about Devil
survival. Other reasons for optimism are
research into a vaccine to immunise against the disease and evidence that some
Devils have recovered from the disease. Another
is precocial breeding where Devils in their first year breed and wean their
young before they catch the disease and die.
Leonie
Blain
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on March 6, 2017.
