All about the Tasmanian Devil!

2. On the official symbol for the Tasmanian
National Parks and Wildlife Services!
Tasmania

3. Started to decline around 1996
at the onset of the Devil Facial
Tumor Disease (DFTD)

4. Current and past distribution and dates
• 400 years ago: Became extinct in Australia
• 1930’s: European settlers dubbed Tasmanian Devils a
nuisance, population size dropped due to hunting
• 1941: Protected from hunting under the law
• 1990’s: Common in the northern, eastern and central sections of
Tasmania.
• 1996: Onset of Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD)
• May of 2008: Updated to Tasmania’s Endangered Species List
• Today: In the northern, eastern and central sections of
Tasmania, though not in the same abundance as in the 1990’s

5. • Major threats to population
– Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD)
• Spread from biting one another
• Tumors aren’t rejected by immune system because of
lack of genetic diversity
• Tasmanian Devils usually die within months of
contracting the cancer
Distribution of DFTD based on
confirmed locations in 2010,
confirmed locations before 2010 and
unconfirmed locations in 2010

6. • Why is their survival important?
– The world's largest surviving carnivorous
marsupial
– Integral part of Tasmanian ecosystems
– As a scavenger it cleans up after other organisms
have satisfied their energy requirements
– Model for the creation of the popular Tasmanian
Devil of Loony Toons
– A Tasmanian icon!

7. • Help find a cure for
DFTD
• Join Save the
Tasmanian Devil
Program, who are
working to “mandate
to investigate the
disease and identify
management
options”
http://www.tassiedevil.com.au