14 tumour-free marsupials to start self-sustaining population

A group of 14 carefully chosen Tasmanian devils will be transferred to a small Australian island in the hope that they are able to set up their own self-sustaining population, free from the facial tumour that has devastated their species.

Tasmania is the only place where the devil is found in the wild and, since the facial tumour was first discovered in 1996, numbers have plunged by 91 percent to the low tens of thousands.

The cancer, which typically causes death within three to six months, is spread during fighting over food and territory, when a healthy devil will bite an infected devil's face and pick up the cancer cells.

Brian Wightman, Tasmania's Environment Minister, said the relocation of the devils is a "major step forward" in the race against extinction of this animal.

The authorities have even started breeding a so-called "insurance population" in captivity to ensure they do not die out.

It has been revealed that the marsupials would be released Thursday on Maria Island, a nature sanctuary off the state’s east coast.

Wightman said: "The Maria Island translocation is designed to establish a self-sustaining population of healthy wild devils in a safe haven where they are protected from interaction with the deadly facial tumour disease."

"It will strengthen the insurance population of disease-free Tasmanian devils, help preserve wild traits in the insurance population and provide genetic stock for future reintroductions."

Experts had deemed the devils unlikely to impact other native species on the island and the ecosystem would be monitored carefully. If successful, authorities plan to increase the overall population on Maria Island over the next two years to approximately 50 animals.