For the first time in 3,000 years, Tasmanian devils have returned to the wild. Conservation groups have reintroduced 26 of the mammals into a large sanctuary in Barrington Tops National Park, north of Sydney, in mainland Australia.
During the 1990s, there were roughly 150,000 devils in the wild on the Australian island state of Tasmania. However, the species was hit hard by contagious and deadly mouth cancer, which drastically cut numbers to as low as 25,000 animals.
Researchers aren’t sure why the species vanished but suspect that packs of dingoes, cancer, and early hunters destroying the megafauna, helped eradicate them on the mainland. Some remain on the island state, but their numbers have dropped significantly over the past twenty years.
Now listed as endangered, the Tasmanian devil gets its name from its high-pitch squeal. The devil is well-known for fighting over animal carcasses, which it grinds to smithereens in minutes with the bone-crushing force of its jaws.
The first European settlers who entered the state of Tasmania began hearing mysterious, frightening, and unearthly growls and screams from deep within the bush. These squeals were far from a familiar animal growl, making settlers believe they were possibly evil spirits from the devil himself. Regardless of their fearsome reputation, animal experts claim they pose no threat to humans or agriculture.
A collaboration between conservation group Aussie Ark, Global Wildlife Conservation, WildArk, and other animal groups, released the devils into the 1,000-acre sanctuary. The animals were placed in the fenced sanctuary to help keep their chances of survival high.
In March, the first group of 15 Tasmanian devils was released. Once the animals started showing signs of thriving in their habitat in September, an additional 11 were released, with the help of ‘Thor’ actor Chris Hemsworth and his wife, fellow actress Elsa Pataky. Watch the crew release the devils in the video below.
The conservationists selected young and healthy Tasmanian devils, hoping they would be ready for the breeding season in February. Another forty are set to be released into the sanctuary over the next two years.
Tim Faulkner, Aussie Ark’s president, said:
They’re free. They’re out there. We’ve got some basic means of keeping an eye on them. But essentially, now it’s over to the devils to do what they do.
The Aussie Ark team has also started releasing other threatened native species into the same habitat, including long-nosed bandicoots, Parma wallabies, rufous bettongs, and long-nosed potoroos.
AussieArk plans to release more of those species over the next six months, in addition to brush-tailed rock wallabies, southern brown bandicoots, and eastern quolls. These tiny mammals are vital in maintaining a healthy and clean environment by scattering seeds and minimizing wildfire intensity by digging up leaf litter and quickening its decomposition process.
Eventually, Aussie Ark hopes to release some Tasmanian devils into unfenced areas. If all goes well, the group plans to expand reintroductions of species to 370,000 acres of protected land nearby.
