By Amy Bailey | Regional Manager
Although the Tasmanian Devil is still considered a highly vulnerable and threatened species, their future is looking more positive with scientific developments, successful breeding programs and release programs being undertaken across the country.
Over 100 healthy devils that were part of insurance populations have now been released across various locations in Tasmania. The Forestier Peninsula in the south east, Narawntapu National Park in the north and Stony Head in the north east have been the main release locations. Unfortunately a number of these devils were killed by cars on the peninsula; however, there have been differing results with these releases due to locations and traffic frequency etc. With the installation of the new virtual fences (as reported in our last update) we hope this number decreases over time.
The Tasmanian government and all parties invested in the future of the Tasmanian Devil have also been advocating for safer roads, increased community awareness and mitigation methods to prevent these healthy devil species from becoming road kill.
More recently scientists have been looking into developing a vaccine that will prevent the disease and can be administered to wild species. The next step with this vaccine is to trial with around 60 devils over the next three years.
Conservation Volunteers Australia participated in a number of activities to help protect this amazing species including building breeding and holding pens for the healthy devils, in partnership with Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. It is thanks to the generosity and support from Global Giving donations and our dedicated volunteers that have enabled us to make such a significant contribution to the survival of this species. Ms Bailey, Hobart Regional Manager of Conservation Volunteers Australia reports “we recently discovered a female devil in the breeding enclosure gave birth to a number of babies. This was the first birth for the breeding enclosures and considered a huge win! The mother, Nymeria is in good health as are the new baby devils.”
As the year comes to a close, we thank you again for your ongoing support and generosity. We hope you have a happy and safe holiday season.
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