WILD

New Hope for the Tasmanian Devil!

New measures are being discussed in order to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction. In an earlier blog, Emily wrote about the possibility of extinction due to a rapidly spreading facial cancer (transferred between devils during fights and/or mating). Fortunately, the devils that live in the northwest part of Tasmania are free of cancer, and scientists would like to keep it that way. The idea is to build a fence that will keep the healthy devils separate from the sick ones. In order for the fence to work, though, it will need to be completed within the next couple of years.

However, a fence is not an ideal solution in terms of connectivity and the larger picture of the ecosystems, perhaps it is the only hope for the Tasmanian devil. While the fence may be the only way to save the devils, other animals could face problems by being stuck in or out of their natural habitat. The scientists need to weigh the pros and cons of both sides; in this case it may be necessary to put up the fence if it means the difference between the Tasmanian devils becoming extinct or not. The fence issue is something we are very familiar with. WILD has been integrally involved in a veterinary fence issue in Botswana over the past several years. Now, working with the Government of Botswana we hope that a significant gap will allow for wildlife migration. The reason for fence in Botswana is very similar to that in Tasmania – attempting to keep healthy animals apart from rapidly spreading disease. We’d love to see what other kinds of creative solutions are possible to save the devils and keep the ecosystem intact, and allowing other wildlife to move freely between the two areas.

The senior scientist working on this project, Hamish McCallum, expects Tasmanian devils living in the wild to become extinct in 20 years if nothing is done to help save them. Funding for this project is coming from both Warner Bros. and Ted Turner, who own cartoon “Taz” the Tasmanian devil and the Cartoon Network respectively. This gives some much needed optimism for the survival of the Tasmanian devil. Hopefully within the next few years the fence will be up and the number of devils in Tasmania will start to increase!

Want to get involved, visit this blog to see how you can help.

Post your Comment here

Comments are the sole responsibility of their authors. WILD is not responsible, nor will be held liable, for blog comments. WILD reserves the right to delete any comment that is abusive, profane, rude, or considered spam.