Elsa Pataky and her husband Chris Hemsworth reintroduce eleven Tasmanian devils (two pictured) to mainland Australia with wildlife nonprofit Aussie Ark. Source: nydailynews.com.
In September 2020, Tasmanian devils were released into the wild of mainland Australia for the first time in 3000 years. Aussie Ark, a wildlife nonprofit in Australia, released eleven Tasmanian devils in collaboration with Global Wildlife Conservation and WildArk into a 1,000-acre wildlife sanctuary in Barrington Tops, a national park in South-Eastern Australia, as part of a broader plan relating to the ecological restoration of Australia. The reintroduction of Tasmanian devils into the wild could potentially rebalance the forest ecology of Australia after the destruction caused by invasive predators, such as foxes and cats.
Although they are the largest marsupial carnivore remaining on Earth, Tasmanian devils are only about the size of a small dog. 3,000 years ago, Tasmanian devils, which were living throughout the eastern forests of Australia, were eradicated from mainland Australia due to the introduction of dingoes, the wild dogs that are now considered a pest species. The devils only remained in Tasmania, an island off of the South-Eastern tip of Australia, as dingoes never spread that far. In 1996, a fatal cancer called Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) emerged, tragically wiping out 90 percent of the wild population of Tasmanian devils. The only known contagious cancer, DFTD spread through biting, fighting, and mating. Today, only 25,000 Tasmanian devils remain in the wild.
For the last ten years, Aussie Ark has done comprehensive work in preparation for the reintroduction of Tasmanian devils into the wild. They extensively researched Tasmanian devils, including their ecological needs and reproductive physiology, and have built an insurance population of devils in captivity. Aussie Ark also ensured that the devils released in mainland Australia are free of DFTD. The wildlife sanctuary at Barrington Tops is also particularly well suited to ensure Tasmanian devil safety. It was specially designed to prevent the spread of diseases, pests, and noxious weeds and fires. Additionally, cars will not be allowed to enter the sanctuary so that the devils do not learn to associate cars with food. As a result, Aussie Ark’s Tasmanian devil breeding program is the most successful conservation breeding facility for the species on mainland Australia—it started in 2011 with 44 devils, and since then has helped to birth and raise 390 devils in ways that foster their natural behaviors, permitting survival in the wild.
Tasmanian devil perched on a log. Source: newscientist.com.
Australia has the world’s worst mammal extinction rate—a problem the reintroduction of Tasmanian devils could help solve. This extinction rate is largely due to the predatory behaviors of feral cats and foxes, which were brought to Australia in the 1700s by European colonizers. As dingoes, who once helped control cat and fox populations, have been eradicated over the last decade, cats and foxes have begun to kill more and more of Australia’s wildlife: Cats in Australia kill more than 2 billion wild animals each year, and in one day, the millions of cats in Australia kill around 1.3 million birds, 1.8 million reptiles, and 3.1 million mammals.
While Tasmanian devils do not usually eat cats, cats still seek to avoid confrontations with devils and change their hunting schedules to hunt at different times. This time shift helps protect the endangered species at risk from cats and foxes, which will hopefully reduce the mammal extinction rates in Australia. Tasmanian devils are also less detrimental to the ecosystem than cats or foxes because they have a lower metabolic rate and do not need to eat as often. In addition, Tasmanian devils are scavengers, preferring to eat animals that are already dead, which reduces their ecological impact.
Over the next two years, Aussie Ark will do two more releases of 20 devils each, monitoring them through surveys, radio collars with transmitters, and camera traps. This will help researchers learn how the Tasmanian devils are living in their new environment and adjust future introduction processes. In addition, Aussie Ark plans to reintroduce six other keystone species critical to Australia’s ecosystem to the sanctuary in the coming years, all specially chosen to help with the area’s natural balance.
In the face of the devastating fires across Australia’s east coast about a year ago, which killed 34 people and almost 3 billion animals and burnt over 72,000 square miles of forest, the reintroduction of the Tasmanian devils is a hopeful step towards rewilding Australia and ending further extinction of various animal species. Proof of reintroduction success will hopefully come this June if new devil joeys are spotted in their mothers’ pouches. The Collegiate Wildlife Conservation Club will be following this story with great interest.
Tasmanian devil opens mouth. Source: aussieark.org.