Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Tasmania Moving Its Devils

As cancer decimates critters, Aussies quarantine them on old prison peninsula

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted May 28, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Australian government is stepping in to prevent the Tasmanian Devil from extinction, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the ill-tempered beasties have been dying off thanks to the world’s first contagious cancer, which they transfer by biting each other in the face. So zoologists are now working to quarantine infected devils in a natural prison—the Tasman-Forestier Peninsula.

Britain once held its worst prisoners on the peninsula, reasoning that its slim connection to the mainland would make escape nigh-impossible. It’s that same prison geography that makes it the perfect place for the devils. “It's the one area of Tasmania that's most easily isolated,” said one doctor. And it's working—infection rates are at 8%, compared with up to 80% elsewhere on the island.

Wildlife Biologist Clare Hawkins checks a Tasmanian devil for cancer.
Wildlife Biologist Clare Hawkins checks a Tasmanian devil for cancer.   (AP Photo/Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water)
A Tasmanian devil searches for food in his enclosure at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
A Tasmanian devil searches for food in his enclosure at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
A Tasmanian devil searches for food in his enclosure at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
A Tasmanian devil searches for food in his enclosure at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
A Tasmanian devil is pictured with a cancerous growth on its face. The Tasmanian devil was listed as an endangered animal last week, because of a deadly cancer that has ravaged its population.
A Tasmanian devil is pictured with a cancerous growth on its face. The Tasmanian devil was listed as an endangered animal last week, because of a deadly cancer that has ravaged its population.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

More Newser Stories

Zulus Urged to Switch to Fake Fur

London Olympics Blasted for Using Endangered Wood

Scientists Crack Code of Kangaroo's DNA

Aussies Warm to Snarling, Vanishing Tasmanian Devil

Gray Wolf to Be Protected Again


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne