Are Devil extinct

Answer 1

Tasmanian Devils are not extinct (unlike the Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger). However, the Tasmanian Devil has only recently been classified as "endangered". Up until 2008, this marsupial was listed as "vulnerable" - that has now changed.

The Tasmanian Devil used to cover all of Australia but now it is limited to Tasmania. The arrival of the Dingo may have caused their extinction on the mainland, probably because they would have competed for the same food.

The Tasmanian Devil is endangered for a number of reasons, and one of them is because the farmers believed that it ate large numbers of livestock and poultry, and used to hunt it. (This is also why the Thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger died out.)

Other reasons include that they are often hit by cars as they feed on other road-killed animals. Some of the Tasmanian devils have been placed in protective captivity so humans and/or other animals cannot kill or hurt them.

Devil Facial Tumour Disease is rife at present and is another reason for keeping them in captivity. DFTD causes facial lesions which increase in size until the Tasmanian devil can no longer eat, and becomes susceptible to infections. At present, no Devils are being taken into captivity with existing captive animals in the hope that the current captive ones will be kept safe from the spread of this disease. The disease spreads through biting - and this is very common in Devils as they are natural fighters, battling tooth and claw for every morsel of food. Only the western third of Tasmania is currently free of the disease. 60% of the state is affected.

Currently there is no cure for the disease, and scientists estimate that unless the disease can be stopped in some way, Tasmanian Devils will be extinct within two decades. The Devils seem to be particularly vulnerable to this because of their genetic makeup: they have particularly low levels of genetic diversity and a chromosomal mutation which is unique among carnivorous mammals. It is hoped that, by studying this genetic makeup, scientists will be able to develop a vaccine and/or cure.

In January 2010, scientists isolated the genetic marker for the disease, and this is a big step towards finding a cure. Also, scientists have recently reported promising results in cancer cures from a drug manufactured frfom a certain type of brushwood in the North Queensland tropical rainforests. This has worked successfully in trials on cancerous tumours in cats, dogs and horses, and as well as being hoped to be a potential cure in human cancers, it is also hoped to be able to be used against DFTD.

As the Devil numbers decrease, fox numbers are increasing. These introduced animals hunt and eat young Devils, and if the Devil numbers drop too low then there is little hope that the population will ever recover - those remaining will be lost to competition by the foxes.

Note: The Tasmanian Devil should not be confused with the Tasmanian Tiger, more properly known as the Thylacine, which is believed to have been extinct since 1936.