Baby Tasmanian Devils

Tasmanian Devils have had a hard time of it, having been made extinct in Australia 3,000 years ago and now suffering from a contagious cancer which has wiped out 95% of affected populations. Conservation efforts have been ongoing, and the Tasmanian Devil was re-introduced in the wild in Australia last year.

Now there's the exciting news that "just months after their release, the creatures have successfully reproduced -- and conservationists have identified the tiny marsupials, which they say are the size of shelled peanuts, inside the pouches of the mothers."

Here's a 1-minute BBC video showing the tiny babies:

Shall we lift a glass in celebration?

That's one of my ATCs from back when I made them. Please post something drink-related and join us at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's weekly T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

Danish Devils

Tasmanian Devils are suffering, laid low by the Devil Facial Tumour Disease which is wiping them out in their homeland. The news that Tasmanian Devils have been born in Denmark is fantastic news!

The Examiner reports:

TWO Tasmanian devils which joined Princess Mary in Denmark have become the first to breed successfully in the northern hemisphere. The Copenhagen Zoo says that at least five joeys are being carried in the pouches of their two females.

The Mercury quotes zoo staff as saying, "They are now 10 weeks old and 5cm long. It is fantastic news for us and for the zoo world as such." Perth Now says, "The young devils, currently about the size of a walnut, were found when the females were pouch-checked by zoo staff last week. Curator Flemming Nielsen said three were spotted in one female and another two in the other."

The photo at the top of the post is from Wikipedia.

Tasmanian Devil Genetic Diversity

As long as I've been keeping track -however loosely- of this issue, they've been telling us that the lack of genetic diversity is a major factor in the Tasmanian Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). Turns out that's just not so:

Researchers had thought that the lack of genetic diversity in the marsupials was a major factor in the disease. But, associate professor Kathy Belov, from the University of Sydney told Rachel Carbonell that in trying to prove the theory her team instead debunked it. -ABCNews The World Today

Phys.org reports:

"We thought devils that were most genetically different to the tumours would be less likely to catch DFTD. This isn't the case." The researchers will have to go back to the drawing board to try to work out why DFTD is affecting genetically different devils.

This disease was first described in 1996 according to Wikipedia, and is a contagious cancer. Wikipedia also says

At present the population has dwindled 70% since 1996. Numbers as of 2010 show an 80% rate of infection throughout the population. Six females have been found with a partial immunity. Breeding in captivity has begun to try to save the population.[8] It is spread by devils biting each other's heads when fighting over food.

The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program has more information.

The photo at the top of the post is from Wikipedia.

Resistant Tasmanian Devils

Good news! It turns out there are regional genetic differences, and some Tasmanian Devils may be resistant to the devastating Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

from The Brisbane Times:

Some devils from the northwest of the state are genetically different from their peers and potentially resistant to cancer, the study has found.

from The Australian:

“If this proves to be correct, then genetic rescue programs are likely to be detrimental,” the scientists conclude. Instead, they say it may be better to focus on isolating and protecting the lucky 20% of devils in the northwest of Tasmania.

Sydney Morning Herald says,

The research opens the door to possibly breeding the more resistant devils in captivity before releasing them into the wild.

Tasmania Examiner:

University of Sydney Associate Professor Kathy Belov said the identification of a small number of genetically different devils in the North-West population opened exciting new research opportunities.

The image at the top of the post is from Wikipedia.

3/20/2010: Scientific American:

Nearly 70 percent of the world's Tasmanian devils ... have been killed in the past 10 years by an infectious cancer called devil facial tumor disease.... So far, no cure has been found, and the disease has spread to almost every corner of the remote island off the southeastern coast of Australia, the only place on Earth where they live in the wild. But now...

Smelly Tassie

According to Environmental Grafitti the Tasmanian Devil is one of the 7 smelliest creatures in the world:

According to some who have encountered it in the wild its stench can never be forgotten. It’s said to reek of death which, along with its ghastly cries and vicious feeding behavior, may have given it its reputation as a fearsome creature. In reality, the devil is shy and solitary and doesn’t generally go around stinking up the joint. They aren’t even particularly prolific hunters, preferring to get together and chow down on carrion. It’s only when the devil is agitated that it starts to produce its horrible smell.

The photo above is taken from the wikipedia site.

Hope for Tasmanian Devils

Good news at last! The Telegraph reports:

Cedric is the first of his species found to have displayed immunity from the horrifically disfiguring cancer, known as devil facial tumour disease or DFTD.
...
If Cedric proves the researchers right, and remains resistant to the disease, then he will form the basis of a breeding programme to distribute disease-detecting genes to a new generation of devils.

and ABC.net.au says,

A Tasmanian devil by the name of Cedric may hold the key to future of his species.

He is an extraordinary devil, guinea pig and possible saviour, who is naturally resistant to the contagious facial tumours which have already killed half the devil population in Tasmania.

News.com.au:

The unlikely would-be saviour of the world's largest marsupial carnivore is an unassuming devil named Cedric. In a development described as "the most exciting" in the five-year quest to halt devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), Cedric has shown an immune response to the unique communicable cancer.

The Independent:

Australia's population of Tasmanian devils has been devastated by a mysterious disease that causes disfiguring and usually fatal muzzle tumours. Wildlife experts say the carnivorous marsupials face extinction in the wild within 10 to 20 years unless the spread of the disease can be halted.

Now Cedric has given scientists new hope. When he was injected with dead facial tumour cells he produced antibodies – the first devil to do so. That means other devils with his mix of genes may be resistant to the disease, or capable of responding to a vaccine.

4/1/2008:

BBC

Tasmanian Devils Doomed

I've been worried about those cancerous facial tumors decimating the Tasmanian Devil population, but ScienceDaily says:

Researchers have been battling to find a cure for a deadly facial tumor disease that has decimated the numbers of the rare animals -- found only in Australia's island state of Tasmania.

But now scientists at Sydney University have suggested a lack of genetic diversity because of inbreeding will doom the devils in any case.

The Age warns:

Researchers from NSW and Tasmania have now found out why: the group of genes involved in recognising foreign cells is genetically very similar in all devils. The same genes are also found in the tumours, so when devils are infected by the disease, which is spread by biting, their immune system does not recognise the cells as foreign, and does not respond.

Dr Belov, of the University of Sydney, said this phenomenon probably developed when devil numbers fell. Low genetic diversity meant there was no natural barrier to prevent the disease spreading.

The Independent reports:

They're vicious, ugly and smelly – and endangered by a mysterious disfiguring disease. But that hasn't deterred Australians from rushing to the aid of the Tasmanian devil, in an ambitious project that has been compared to Noah's Ark. Kathy Marks reports on a extraordinary evacuation

ScienceAlert:

"We found that the Devils do not mount an immune response against the tumour," said Dr Belov. "This was due to a loss of genetic diversity in the most important immune gene region of the genome: the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). Matching of MHC genes is the key to successful tissue or organ transplants. In the case of the devil, genetic diversity at MHC genes is so low, and the MHC type of the tumour and host are so alike, that the host does not see the tumour as "non-self," she said.

I've been fond of the Tasmanian Devil since I discovered them in childhood via the cartoon:

photo from wikipedia/
fair use rationale

Check out the Save the Tasmanian Devil Campaign.