Tasmanian Devil

Photo: Trent Browning

The Tasmanian Devil is the world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial. Devils once occurred on mainland Australia, but today are found only in Tasmania. Unfortunately the species is faced with the threat of extinction from the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD).  Healesville Sanctuary is involved in the captive management of Tasmanian Devils, including a breeding program.


DFTD describes a fatal condition in Tasmanian Devils characterised by the appearance of obvious facial cancers. The tumours or cancers are first noticed in and around the mouth as small lesions or lumps. These develop into large tumours around the face and neck and sometimes even in other parts of the body. Affected animals appear to die within six months of the lesions first appearing.

Healesville Sanctuary's captive breeding program is a vital element of the ‘Save the Tasmanian Devil’ program, which was established to investigate the disease through population monitoring, disease diagnostics and wild population management. 

  • The Program

    Due to the rapid decline in population numbers, the ‘Save the Tasmanian Devil’ program aims to urgently address the various issues associated with Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD).

    Find out more

  • The Conservation Issue

    DFTD was first observed in the mid-1990s and it is believed that over the last ten years a third to half of the wild devil population has been lost to the disease.

    Find out more

Devilish video

Devil Keeper Tiff explains some of challenges of breeding endangered Tasmanian Devils at Healesville Sanctuary, and the research they are doing to ensure greater breeding success. 'Storm'- one of our fiesty youngsters provides a few good soundbites that show why they got their name 'devils'

 

Don't Palm us off