Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary May Save Species

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The beleaguered Tasmanian devil, whose numbers have been decimated by a mysterious cancer, has been given new hope with a sanctuary created to support a breeding program. The devil is a species native to Tasmania, Australia's island state. Scientists there hope the sanctuary will provide some respite as they try to come up with a way to save the marsupial from becoming endangered.

Australia’s Tasmanian devil might have a fearsome reputation but, as a species, it's future is not so bright. A deadly facial cancer, first reported in 1996, has destroyed an estimated 70 percent of the population.

It's believed the cancer is spread via saliva when the animals bite one another during mating season. Tumors form, preventing the animals from feeding and they eventually die.

Conservationists have been trying to preserve healthy devils by isolating them in zoos, but in Coles Bay on the east coast of Tasmania, they are now exploring a new approach.

A 60-acre parcel of land, dubbed "Devil Island", has been donated as a sanctuary for healthy animals. Devil Island CEO Bruce Englefield says this gives them a fighting chance.

[Bruce Englefield, Devil Island CEO]:
"Devils can be disease free and safe but keep all their wild behaviors or learn them as much as possible."

The Devil Island sanctuary is now home to 18 healthy devils. The Environment Department's Mark Holdsworth says they were taken from a disease-free area on the state's west coast.

[Mark Holdsworth, Environment Department]:
"What we are trying to do here is to maintain wild behavior in captive devils as part of the insurance population and this is the first time we have actually tried this."

Jan Cameron, a Tasmanian businesswoman, donated the land for the sanctuary.