Conservationists are celebrating a milestone for one of Australia’s most iconic species: the 500th pup born as part of an ambitious Tasmanian devil breeding and reintroduction program.
“Every single baby is so precious,” said Aussie Ark executive director Liz Gabriel. “And this cub and what it represents is very special to all of us who have worked to save the species for so many years.” Based on the word “milestone”, the cute Joey (cub) was christened Milo.
type of cancer threatened
Until 2020, the aggressive “Tasmanian Devils”, weighing up to eight kilos, only existed on the island of Tasmania, to which they also owe their name. There, however, their existence was threatened because of a type of cancer.
Aussie Ark has its own Tasmanian devil breeding program. In 2020, the organization, along with other conservation groups, released 28 of the black carnivores, who showed no signs of disease, at a reserve north of Sydney. Around 3000 years after the species went extinct on the mainland, young were born there again in freedom for the first time.
“Indeed, the organization was originally formed to save the animals from extinction when deadly facial cancer threatened to wipe out the species in the mid-1990s,” a statement said Wednesday. Tasmanian devils are extremely important to the balance of nature, explained Tim Faulkner, one of the directors of Aussie Ark. “In the wilderness of Tasmania, they protect and feed the entire ecosystem. I just love the devils.”
Out of the pouch in 100 days
After birth, the tiny and still naked young crawl from the vagina into the mother’s pouch. There they attach themselves to the mammary glands and slowly grow until they leave the pouch after about 100 days. Milo is now four months old and will spend his entire life in freedom in the wilderness of the Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary on the East Coast, it said.
The animals have been under protection since 1941. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) have an extremely strong bite. Characteristic are the red ears, a wild screeching and a foul smell that the animals emit when excited.
