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The birth of nine Tasmanian Devils in the wild on mainland Australia for the second year in a row marks an important moment in Aussie Ark, WildArk and Rewild’s DevilComeback campaign - a wild plan to rewild Australia - the country with the world’s worst mammal extinction rate.

The organisations - Aussie Ark, WildArk and Rewild - are thrilled at the arrival of the Tasmanian devil joeys and the success of the program.

In 2020, 28 Tasmanian devils were released into the Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary which marked the start of the DevilComeback campaign. Successful breeding of Tasmanian devils in the wild was confirmed last year for the first time in 3,000 years. This year’s season was critical in determining the long-term success of the program, and the confirmation of nine joeys already in pouch is a significant step in the right direction.

Kelly Davis, Aussie Ark Curator advises “there is something incredibly special about checking devil pouches every year. Nothing beats peeking into the mother’s pouch and seeing that tiny pink joey. It’s even more special out here in the Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary, where we know they are living completely wild – without human intervention.”

Aussie Ark’s Tasmanian devil breeding program is the most successful conservation breeding facility for the endangered species on mainland Australia. At its founding, the program started with 44 individuals and today is home to more than 200—which equals about 50 percent of the entire mainland insurance population. To date, more than 400 devils have been born and raised at Aussie Ark in a way that encourages and fosters natural behaviour in the animals, helping to ensure that they maintain all the skills they need to survive in the wild.

WildArk General Manager Kirstin Scholtz adds “the success of this project is enormously exciting for both the future of Tassie Devils and the conservation of native wildlife in Australia. The work Aussie Ark have done to successfully protect and rewild this iconic species is critical to helping restore ecosystems and end species extinction.”

The team at Aussie Ark will continue pouch checks over the coming weeks and are expecting to confirm upwards of 19 joeys in total. Following the pouch checks the team will monitor the devils through motion sensor cameras, and six months expect to see juvenile Tasmanian devils exploring the sanctuary.

The organisation has now confirmed a total of 56 Tasmanian devil joeys born so far this year; that number is expected to continue to rise.

Tasmanian devils vanished entirely from mainland Australia in large part because they were outcompeted by introduced dingoes, which hunt in packs. Dingoes never made it to Tasmania, but across the island state, a transmissible, painful, and fatal disease called Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD)—the only known contagious cancer—decimated up to 90 percent of the wild population of Tasmanian devils. Just 25,000 devils are left in the wild of Tasmania today.

Aussie Ark was established in 2011 as a solution to the extinction crisis facing the iconic Australian mammal. Since its inception, Aussie Ark has expanded to protect 15 Keystone Australian species and are actively working to secure and protect Australia’s forests.

Aussie Ark’s partners include Rewild, WildArk, Glencore, Australian Geographic, Australian Reptile Park, WIRES, FAME, Coles, Symbio Wildlife Park, Sydney Helicopters and Volkswagen. 

You can support Aussie Ark and their conservation efforts by donating today: aussieark.org.au/donate/

Image top: Aussie Ark Tasmanian devil joeys in pouch; Image centre: Kelly Davis and Tyler Gralton with Tasmanian devil; Image above: Tyler Gralton releasing female Tasmanian devil. All images credit Aussie Ark

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