The Tasmanian
Devil is in Danger - not Dangerous!
The Tasmanian Devil is the symbol of the Tasmanian National
Parks and Wildlife Service. Tasmanian devils became extinct on
mainland Australia for 600 years. The Devil Facial Tumour Disease,
is having a devastating effect on the Tasmanian devil population
which had recovered from population decline in the 1940's when it
was feared the animal would follow the thylacine into extinction.
The Tasmanian Devil is now listed as vulnerable in Tasmania.
It has been over ten years since the facial tumour disease was
discovered in the Tasmanian Devil. Since then ground breaking
research has almost certainly established that the disease is a
cancerous cell line transmitted by allograft - that is by a bite
from a diseased devil leads to the tumour directly invading the
second animal without being destroyed by the immune system. Devils
commonly give and receive bites during mating and feeding.
Devils only live for about 5 years in the wild and raise few
young to maturity. Hopes rest on maintaining breeding populations
isolated from the infectious wild population and urgent research.
Once used to isolate convicts and not naturally home to the tassie
devil, Maria island on Tasmania's east coast, is being used to
isolate an off show wild insurance population. The Trowunna
Wildlife Park, Mole Creek Tasmania breeding population has recently
become infected although the 2 devils sent from there to Denmark
are believed to be disease free. Other facilities around the state
remain disease free and Australia Zoo maintains a disease free
priority breeding program on the mainland.
Several government and independant initiatives are in place to
prevent the disease from wiping out the Tasmanian Devil population.
Last year about 26 juvenile devils were taken into captivity from
all the last remaining disease-free areas in the state, to capture
the genetic diversity across the state.
This cache will be the home of the Oleruns Alaskan Tasmanian Devil
Geocoin that will be starting on its own
adventure on 12-6-2006. Please check back often to see the
status of the coin - 11-14-2006
Congrats FLYRFN - FTF!