Tasmanian Devils Face Extinction.

Posted by gail in Animal on February 20, 2007 at 7:52 pm


devil

Discovery Channel reports:


A mutant cancer which causes facial tumors on Australia’s Tasmanian
devil has brought the carnivorous marsupial to the brink of extinction,
a leading researcher has said.

Local populations of the animal . . . have already been savaged by the
mysterious disease, which results in malignant facial tumors.

Hamish McCallum, professor of wildlife research at the University of
Tasmania’s school of zoology, said the disease, which usually results
in death six months after the appearance of the first lesions, could
lead to the extinction of the species within a decade.


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COMMENT

8 comments to "Tasmanian Devils Face Extinction."

  1. dodgyd55
    February 20th, 2007 at 8:07 pm

    i thought they were extinct a while back, i must be thinking of another Australian animal

  2. gail
    February 20th, 2007 at 9:14 pm

    You might be thinking of the thylacines.

  3. aj
    February 20th, 2007 at 9:37 pm

    I recall seeing a documentary about this a while ago, I'm pretty sure they won't go extinct as there are plans to set up populations in zoos on the mainland. They were going to take devils from areas where the disease hasn't yet spread.

  4. Terry
    February 21st, 2007 at 6:35 pm

    Koalas are facing extinction too. Actually, the list of species in danger of disappearing is to extensive to list here. The drought in Australia has just about wiped out our water birds, they've just gone.

  5. aj
    February 22nd, 2007 at 1:22 am

    What state are you talking about Terry? The number of Koalas we got around where I used to live certainly doesn't indicate a dying population. Also if I'm not mistaken there are literally too many koalas in either Tassie or Kangaroo Island (sorry can't remember which)

  6. Anita
    February 22nd, 2007 at 9:30 am

    Wow, I never realized they are so cute!

  7. Terry
    February 22nd, 2007 at 5:29 pm

    aj,

    Do a search on Koalas face extinction, you'll find loads of articles. Not many people realise the koalas plight. 15 years ago I counted 7 koalas on my 4 acres (Victoria) in one afternoon. I haven't seen one koala in 5 years.

  8. Terry
    February 22nd, 2007 at 6:04 pm

    The IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature) lists the koala as ‘POTENTIALLY VULNERABLE’. This relatively low listing is influenced by Victoria’s "apparently" stable official koala conservation status. However, the Australian Koala Foundation does not agree with the Victorian Government’s assessment of that state’s current situation.

    In 2000, the koala was listed as ‘THREATENED’ under the United States Endangered Species Act by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. This is one category below ‘Endangered’.

    https://www.savethekoala.com/koalasendangered.html


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