Devils make for Hunter Valley to escape Tassie tumours (Devil's Arc Project)

[depakid]

Meet a few of the 17 new Tasmanian devil joey arrivals at the Australian Reptile Park, who are creating a "devil ark" - a sanctuary for the species - in the Hunter Valley.
(Great slideshow at link).
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''devil's ark'' is to be created in the Hunter Valley to provide a last refuge for Tasmanian devils on the Australian mainland, as facial tumours continue to decimate Tasmania's population. The ark will be a protected nature reserve to house 1000 or more healthy devils - the first time in about 400 years the state's bushland has supported a big population.

About 350 hectares of bushland at Barrington Tops have been made available for the project by Ellerston, a company owned by businessman James Packer, at a nominal fee, believed to be about $1 a month. The land is considered ideal because its elevation and relatively low temperatures mimic many living conditions in Tasmania.

The Tasmanian population is collapsing and about 80 per cent of them have succumbed to the contagious facial tumour disease since it first struck in the mid-1990s. If the worst fears of researchers are realised, the ark devils may provide the only breeding population large enough to be genetically viable, and the NSW colony could eventually be relied on to introduce the species back into Tasmania.

''We see it as the most important conservation program in Australia,'' said Mary Rayner, the general manager of the Australian Reptile Park, which is helping to co-ordinate the captive breeding program. ''We're talking about an iconic Australian animal that is doomed unless the breeding program works,'' she said.

If a development approval is granted, work on the ark will start next month, with the whole area to be fenced off to keep predators out and mischievous devils in. The Australian Reptile Park is working with seven other zoos, including Taronga and Dubbo, on the devil breeding program.

If the project goes to plan, 48 devils will arrive at their new home in November - most of them captured from Tasmanian forests and quarantined to check for signs of facial tumours. The organisers of the project, including the Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species, are seeking public donations to keep the project afloat.

''If it's in our power, we won't let the Tasmanian devil go the way of the thylacine,'' said the president of the group, Michael Willson.

More: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/devils-make-for-hunter-valley-to-escape-tassie-tumours-20100713-109iq.html

[htuttle]

1. Uh oh...

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Every creature deserves a chance to survive.