The Tasmanian Devil, a feisty marsupial that lives only in the Australian island state of Tasmania, is an endangered species in response to a fatal epidemic of devil facial tumor disease, which has wiped out large numbers of the animal. Devil numbers are difficult to estimate, the animals may have plummeted from around 150,000 in the mid-1990s to between 20,000 and 50,000 by the end of 2006.

"The change in the devil's status reflects the real possibility that this iconic species could face extinction in the wild within 20 years," Tasmania's Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn said in a statement.

Unusual Cancer

The devils' disease is one of just two known cancers able to spread like a contagious disease, and is transmitted when one devil bites another. Large tumors form on the faces and necks of the animals, making it impossible for them to eat. Many of the afflicted animals subsequently die of starvation.

The disease has now spread across more than 60 percent of the state, and in the northeast—where it was first detected in 1996. No one knows the cause of the disease, though some experts have suggested flame retardants found in some devils may make them more susceptible to cancer.

Tasmanian wildlife would suffer if the devil disappeared, because it has prevented alien predators—such as foxes and feral cats—from exploding in number. Tasmania is an ark for Australia, its mammal fauna is still largely intact. If the devils go, and the foxes and cats increase, it would be all over for a good dozen or more species of mammals—many of which are unique to Tasmania … not to mention lizards and ground-dwelling birds.

Last Bastion

Conservationists are pinning their hopes on a small wild population of the marsupials in Tasmania's northwest, where the disease has yet to take hold. Already, some healthy devils have been captured and sent to facilities on mainland Australia to form the nucleus of a captive-breeding population

The 'Australiana Collection' wildlife design of the Tasmanian Devil portrays a feisty character from Tasmania.
Australiana Collection