The Hunter’s Tasmanian Devil breeding program, Devil Ark, is committing to double its population by 2020.
It’s part of a bid to secure a healthy ‘insurance population’ as a deadly facial tumour disease continues to devastate the wild population in Tasmania.
Boosting their numbers from 180 to 360 in four years, General Manager of Devil Ark, Tim Faulkner, says the commitment is essential to securing the existence of the iconic Australian species.
“More recently a second strain of the disease has been discovered, demonstrating that there is a real risk that this iconic species will be lost forever,” he said.
“We at Devil Ark believe the recovery of the devil is a national responsibility. Bold new plans to double Devil Ark, far from the diseased landscape of Tasmania are due to begin construction in early 2017. Our successful facility already holds 52% of the mainland insurance population, and aims to repopulate Tasmania once the disease has runs its course”.
