Devils arrive for important mission Down Under

Two young Tasmanian devils are busy settling themselves into life at Auckland Zoo’s Australia Bush Track following their recent arrival and relocation from Cressy Wildlife Facility in Tasmania.

The two-year-old sisters, for whom we are seeking palawa kani names (the language of Tasmanian Aboriginals) to honour their heritage, are here as part of the Tasmanian Devil Ambassador Program - to raise awareness of their species.

Once widespread throughout mainland Australia, these unique nocturnal carnivorous marsupials (the world’s largest) are today found only in Tasmania. Since emerging in 1996, the highly contagious cancer Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) - spread when mature devils naturally compete for food and breeding partners to mate, has wiped out 80 percent of the wild population.

Auckland Zoo’s lead carnivore keeper, Nick Parashchak, who spent time in Tasmania working alongside colleagues at Cressy in preparation for the sisters’ arrival, says there’s a lot to love about these remarkable and endearing animals.

“Historically, the Tasmanian devil hasn’t been well understood. In contrast to its infamous cartoon character, real devils are beautiful animals, naturally quite timid and shy, but also extremely curious. They have many distinct (and some very loud and fierce sounding!) vocalisations and physical gestures, but most are a bluff and part of rituals and strategies to avoid fighting to prevent harming each other, including when they come together to feed on a carcass. And some devil vocalisations are just the equivalent of a friendly Aussie ‘gidday how are you?’ so shouldn’t be mistaken for aggressiveness,” says Nick.

“While still getting used to a whole new world of sights, sounds and smells since arriving on 4 September, our night cameras reveal they’re having the time of their lives exploring the habitat when they’re not sleeping together in their nest box. They’ve been digging and climbing, and clearly love seeing male devil Nita (5). He’s viewable from his separate area, and their presence is great stimulation for him too. Nita is very active, including during the day, and in time as these sisters fully settle in our visitors are likely to experience a lot more devil action and discover more about what makes this species so special.”

As apex predators that scavenge on sick and dead animals, devils play a critical role in maintaining the health of the forest and coastal woodland ecosystems in which they live.

Auckland Zoo’s two new arrivals, along with male devil Nita, are among 54 ambassador devils now in zoos in New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Europe, and the USA.

“As the genetics of these individuals are well represented in our insurance population (currently 500), they’re not needed for breeding. Instead, they’re able to play a powerful advocacy and educational role in zoos like Auckland,” says David Schaap, Senior Wildlife Officer at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas).

“Surprisingly, many people still don’t realise that the devil is a real species and not a cartoon! In our experience, education plays a big part in conservation, as the more people learn about devils and their plight, this generates interest and a desire to help them,” says David.

The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (STDP) was established in 2003 and is the response to the threat of extinction of the Tasmanian devil due to Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

David says while wild populations have stabilised in recent years, latest modelling by STDP predicts further declines in state-wide devil numbers as DFTD moves into remaining disease-free areas, after which there is a high probability of persistence of devils within the landscape at reduced densities.

“As devil numbers reduce, the population’s age structure changes, and we see fewer older devils – those competing for food and mates that both transmit and succumb to the disease. With more carcasses around, there’s the risk of other species, like feral cats, which devils used to keep in check, taking over the vital role of devils and further upsetting the balance and health of the ecosystem.”  

Exciting progress on DFTD vaccine

As Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) remains the single greatest threat to devils, alleviating its impact would achieve the greatest turnaround for this iconic Endangered Australian species.

The University of Tasmania’s Menzies School of Medical Research, in collaboration with STDP, have been working for the past decade to develop a safe and effective vaccine.

Approvals for trials are still pending to develop a vaccine in the form of a meat based oral bait. Trials using a placebo bait have been successfully conducted on a safe and effective bait delivery system that can singularly target devils.

Devil Details 

• Unique: The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), a nocturnal species, is the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial. Males can grow up to 12kg and females, up to 8kg,
• Endangered: Classified as ‘Endangered’ by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List and the Federal government of Australia.
• Disease: Since emerging in 1996, the highly contagious cancer Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) has resulted in significant declines in Tasmanian devil numbers. Despite initial fears, extensive research and monitoring shows devils can persist in the wild with the disease. Modelling procured by the STDP shows that there is a low likelihood that devils will become extinct in the wild over the next 20 years.
• Short lived: Average devil life expectancy is 5 years in the wild (and up to 7 years in zoos). A very fertile species, females can produce up to 4 offspring annually (Up to 40 joeys can be born at one time, but just 4 survive as there are only 4 nipples in the mother’s pouch).
• Ecological engineers: Tasmanian devils have been described as ‘furry little vacuum cleaners’ as they eat dead and often sick animals. This helps prevent the spread of disease and maintains the health of the forest and coastal woodland ecosystems in which they live.
• Noisy! Devils have at least 11 distinct vocalisations, including ‘snort’, ‘hump-growl’, ‘bark’, ‘clap’ (snapping of the jaws), ‘growl-whine’ ‘screech’ and ‘sneeze’. They also snore and sigh. Many vocalisations are bluff and part of a ritual to intimidate other devils to avert a fight when feeding communally at a large carcass.

Programmes:

• The Tasmanian Devil Ambassador Program, established in 2013, is a collaboration between the Australian government and the Australasian Zoo Aquarium Association (ZAA) - which Auckland Zoo has participated in since 2014.
• Save The Tasmanian Devil Program (STDP), established in 2003 is the initiative of the Tasmanian government in response to the threat from DFTD The Vision of the STDP is a resilient wild devil population that needs limited management intervention.