tasmanian devils went extinct on the mainland in the mid - 19th century.
tasmanian devils went extinct on the mainland in the mid - 19th century.
when did tasmanian devils go extinct on the mainland?
the mid - 19th century
it is believed that ancient marsupials migrated from what is now south america to australia tens of millions of years ago during the time of gondwana, and that they evolved as australia became more arid. fossils of species similar to modern devils have been found, but it is not known whether they were ancestors of the contemporary species, or whether the current devils co-existed with these species. the date that the tasmanian devil became locally extinct from the australian mainland is unclear; most evidence suggests they had contracted to three relict populations around 3000 years ago. a tooth found in augusta, western australia has been dated to 430 years ago, but archaeologist oliver brown disputes this and considers the devil's mainland extinction to have occurred around 3000 years ago. this disappearance is usually blamed on dingoes, which are absent from tasmania.
tasmanian devil
devil ark is a preservation project targeting tasmanian devils, which are headed towards extinction. tasmanian devils are facing an aggressive non-viral transmissible parasitic cancer named devil facial tumour disease which has the prognosis to kill the diseased tasmanian devils with a 100% rate within one year from infection. a group of healthy tasmanian devil individuals are being raised in captivity at the ark to produce offspring, which is slowly progressing. this project aims to create a set of one thousand genetically representative devils, and is now a major focus of the insurance policy. previously tasmanian devils were held in zoo captivities but there was almost no chance that they would produce offspring while being there. devil ark is located on 1350 meters altitude in similar weather conditions as found in tasmania at 500 hectares breeding facility at ellerston station, just north of barrington tops in new south wales; an initiative of the australian reptile park. in 2013 it was announced that devil ark is open for tours on the first saturday of every month. 2016 saw the 200th tasmanian devil born through the project.
devil ark