Tassie Devils Are Back In The Wild On Mainland Australia For The First Time In Over 3000 Years
There’s been a lot of terrible news this year, for we humans and for our Australian wildlife (poor koalas). So it’s nice to finally have an anti-extinction story to share.
The Tasmanian Devil has finally, permanently, returned to the wild on Australia’s mainland over 3000 years after it was last seen here.
Eleven of the animals were recently released into a wildlife sanctuary just out of Sydney, following an assisted trial release in the area of another 15 — so yup, 26 little devils are rocking around north of Sydney, with a plan for two more releases of 20 devils over the next two years.
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Aussie Ark — who describe themselves as the “life raft of threatened, endangered native species to create an insurance population” — have been working with Global Wildlife Conservation and Wild Ark in an attempt to rebuild the species and someday return them to the Aussie mainland.
Funnily enough, the Tassie Devils also partly owe their new home to absolute babe and superhero of my heart, Chris Hemsworth. He fellow actor Elsa Pataky helped to release the devils into their new home. So yeah, they just came in at the end, but every story is better with a Hemsworth.
Why is this so exciting?
Well, beyond the fact a basically extinct animal now coming back from the brink, Aussie Ark say it’s actually really great for the natural balance of Australian wildlife.
“Not only does the reintroduction bode well for the recovery of the Tasmanian devil,” explains their website, “But as native apex predators and the world’s largest carnivorous marsupials, they help control feral cats and foxes that threaten other endangered and endemic species”.
There you go mates, you love to see it, please give us more stories like this to round out 2020, am I right? I’m right.
(Lead Image: Unsplash / David Clode)
