Tasmanian devil to get endangered species listing

Yahoo News 19 May 08;

Australia's Tasmanian devil will be listed as an endangered species this week as a result of a deadly and disfiguring cancer outbreak, the state government said Monday.

The disease, a fast-growing head tumour which spreads over the marsupial's face and mouth and prevents it from eating, often killing it within months, has cut the island's devil population in the wild by as much as 60 percent.

A spokeswoman for Tasmania's Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn said the small, black-haired animal would be listed as an endangered species by state officials on Wednesday.

The minister told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the animal would be upgraded from a vulnerable to an endangered species so that the "appropriate resources and effort" can be poured into protecting it.

The government has also backed a plan to build an "insurance population" of healthy Tasmanian devils at wildlife reserves, zoos and other protected areas.

"If required, these animals could be utilised to help re-establish Tasmanian devil numbers in the wild," Llewellyn said.

The facial tumour is extremely unusual in that it is a contagious cancer, spread from devil to devil by biting.

The devil is the world's largest marsupial carnivore and now only lives in Australia's southern island state.

Early European settlers named the feisty marsupial the devil for its spine-chilling screeches, dark appearance and reputed bad temper which, along with its steeltrap jaw, made it appear incredibly fierce.

Australia's Tasmanian devil declared endangered
Yahoo News 21 May 08;

Australia's Tasmanian devil was listed as endangered on Wednesday due to a contagious and deadly cancer which threatens to wipe out the carnivorous marsupial.

The disease, a fast-growing tumour which spreads over the marsupial's face and mouth and prevents it from eating, often killing it within months, is thought to have reduced its numbers by some 60 percent.

Tasmania had previously listed the black-haired animal with vice-like jaws as vulnerable, and state Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn said the upgrading highlighted the severity of the disease.

"The disease we are fighting is one of the few cancers in the world known to be directly transmissible," Llewellyn said.

"In many ways it is defying what is commonly known about disease, in that it is not petering out in areas where it has been for a long time.

"This upgrading really reminds us of what we are up against in our efforts to ensure the ongoing survival of the species in the wild."

The facial tumours are spread through biting and since the disease was first observed in 1996, there has been a 64 percent decline in sightings of the devil across Tasmania.

In the island state's northeast, where the tumours were first seen, the number of sightings fell by 95 percent over the decade to 2005.

The state upgrade will place pressure on the federal government to hike its assessment and will qualify the animal for greater conservation funding.

The Australian and Tasmanian governments have already given their support to a programme to create healthy populations of devils not yet exposed to the disfiguring disease in quarantined locations.

"We are committed to finding an answer and saving the Tasmanian devil for Tasmanians and the world," Llewellyn said in a statement.

"We are developing and implementing an insurance strategy which has established captive populations around the country, (and) implementing wild management trials to attempt to secure wild populations."

The devil is the world's largest marsupial carnivore and now only lives in Australia's southern island state.

Early European settlers named the feisty marsupial the devil for its spine-chilling screeches, dark appearance and reputed bad temper which, along with its steeltrap jaw, made it appear incredibly fierce.

Tasmanian Devil listed as endangered
Yahoo News 21 May 08;

HOBART, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's Tasmanian Devil, its population decimated by a facial cancer, was listed as an endangered species on Wednesday by the Tasmanian state government.

The deadly and disfiguring facial cancer, which often kills within months, has cut the island state's wild devil population by as much as 60 percent. The Tasmanian Devil faces extinction in 10 to 20 years due to the facial cancer.

"We are committed to finding an answer and saving the Tasmanian Devil for Tasmanians and the world," Tasmanian Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn said in a statement announcing the change in status from vulnerable to endangered.

The Tasmanian Devil is a carnivorous marsupial about the size of a small muscular dog. It has black fur, gives off a skunk-like odour when stressed, and earns its devil name for its ferocious temperament and disturbing call.

The facial cancer is genetically identical in every animal and originated from a single contagious cell line and spread throughout the population by biting during fights for food and mates.

"We are developing and implementing an insurance strategy which has established captive populations around the country, implementing wild management trials to attempt to secure wild populations," said Llewellyn.

Llewellyn said he was encouraged by the fact that some devils from western Tasmania had developed antibodies to facial tumor.

"While it is still very early days, discoveries such as this provide hope that the disease may be managed in the longer term and that devils with genetic diversity will survive it," he said.

(Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Tasmanian Devils Named Endangered Species
Dave Hansford, National Geographic News 21 May 08;

The Tasmanian devil, a feisty marsupial that lives only in the Australian island state of Tasmania, was deemed an endangered species this week by the state's government.

The government had previously classified the creature as vulnerable. But its more critical status comes 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, but state government figures suggest 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.

Sightings of devils have dropped by 64 percent in the past decade, according to Warwick Brennan, spokesperson for the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, a joint effort of the state government and the University of Tasmania.

"It's a stark warning about how suddenly and dramatically things can change," he said.

The disease has now spread across more than 60 percent of the state, and in the northeast—where it was first detected in 1996—there have been no signs of recovery, he added.

"Usually a disease will peter out in time, but we're just not seeing that."