Tasmanian Devils Placed On Endangered Species List
The Tasmanian devil in Australia is now on the endangered species list due to a deadly cancer that is killing them off. Scientists believe that the tumor begins in the head of the animal and slowly spreads to their face and mouth. This keeps it from being able to eat anything and and kill it in as little as two months. Because of this the population of the marsupial has decreased by close to 60%.
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 will also be supporting a plan that will help to build an “insurance population” to protect the healthy Tasmanian devils where they can live in zoos and wildlife preserves. “If required, these animals could be utilised to help re-establish Tasmanian devil numbers in the wild,” Llewellyn said.