Mystery Virus Threatens to Wipe Out Tasmanian Devil
Wildlife experts are investigating a mystery virus which threatens to wipe out the rare Tasmanian devil. The marsupial's population peaked at 200,000 in the mid-1990s, but wild populations of the animal have halved in the past four years. Infected animals develop massive cancers...
Wildlife experts are investigating a mystery virus which threatens to wipe out the rare Tasmanian devil.
The marsupial's population peaked at 200,000 in the mid-1990s, but wild populations of the animal have halved in the past four years.
Infected animals develop massive cancers on their faces, which can spread through the entire body within months. Many devils, crippled by their tumours, die of starvation.
The government has pledged £750,000 to investigate the virus.
Tasmania's environment minister, Bryan Green, highlighted the fate of the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, which became extinct when the last captive specimen died in a Hobart zoo in 1936.
"Whatever resources are needed should be made available to ensure the devil does not go the same way," he said.
The cancer was first spotted in 1996, and officials fear it could kill off two-thirds of the remaining population within the next three years.
The marsupial's population peaked at 200,000 in the mid-1990s, but wild populations of the animal have halved in the past four years.
Infected animals develop massive cancers on their faces, which can spread through the entire body within months. Many devils, crippled by their tumours, die of starvation.
The government has pledged £750,000 to investigate the virus.
Tasmania's environment minister, Bryan Green, highlighted the fate of the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger, which became extinct when the last captive specimen died in a Hobart zoo in 1936.
"Whatever resources are needed should be made available to ensure the devil does not go the same way," he said.
The cancer was first spotted in 1996, and officials fear it could kill off two-thirds of the remaining population within the next three years.
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