Tasmanian Devils Devastated By Disease

by Sherry Morse

Experts gathered in the Tasmanian city of Launcestonin in early October to develop a strategy for finding the causes of 'devil facial tumor disease' (DFTD) and for battling the disease which has killed half of the world-wide Tasmanian devil population.

Tasmanian devils are short-legged, muscular animals about the size of a small dog, with jaws powerful enough to crush bone. There are only about 120 devils in captivity, with all but one of those in Australia.

DFTD, which was first spotted in 1996, has already killed almost all marsupials in eastern Tasmania and now appears to be spreading to the western half of the state.

The Tasmanian government has pledged $1.25 million to help investigate the apparent virus.

"Whatever resources are needed should be made available to ensure the devil does not go the same way (as the Tasmanian tiger, which became extinct in 1936)," said Tasmanian Environment Minister Bryan Green.

Green said the money will be used to fund a three-year research program.

DFTD first presents as small lesions and lumps around the infected animal's mouth, which then grow into cancerous tumors on the face before spreading throughout the devil's body.

It takes three to five months for most of the marsupials to die; they usually succumb to starvation as they become unable to compete for food.

Some researchers believe that the disease is caused by a retrovirus like those responsible for HIV and SARS and that it is spread when devils fight over scavenged food.

However, other experts believe that the tumors are endemic to the species and that environmental conditions such as over-population may play a role in the current outbreak of the disease.

Nick Mooney, a wildlife management official with Tasmania's conservation department, said the population of Tasmanian devils has plummetted from a high of 150,000 in the mid-nineties to an estimated 75,000 today.

Mooney does not believe the disease will wipe out the devil population completely, though.

"There have been no clear examples of infectious diseases wiping out whole populations of animals," he said, "because, as the animals become rarer, the rate of transmission falls and the population recovers."

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.