An Australian wildlife organization dedicates its efforts to preserving endangered Tasmanian devils. Recently, they’re celebrating an important milestone — the birth of the group’s 500th joey.
Amid the rolling hills and eucalyptus-scented breezes of Australia’s lower Mid-North Coast, Aussie Ark is celebrating a significant milestone: The wildlife organization has welcomed its 500th Joey as part of its Tasmanian devil breeding program.
Once ubiquitous and iconic to the Tasmanian landscape (and also present on the mainland until introduced dingoes outcompeted them), these unique marsupials have seen their numbers dwindle alarmingly. Over ninety percent of the wild Tasmanian devil population has been ravaged by the devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). Since its discovery in the ’90s, DFTD has thrust the species towards the brink of extinction.
The threats facing Tasmanian devils are dangerous not only to the species itself, but also to Australia’s overall ecosystem. “There’s nothing like them,” explains Aussie Ark president Tim Faulkner. “If [that species] went, there’s no one to replace it. Equally important is the role [the Tasmanian devil] plays in the environment. It’s a top-order species, and in that capacity, it controls the populations of feral animals. It protects everything under it — from small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, to fungi, flora, and invertebrates — and that for us is the real bang for buck.”
As the largest carnivorous marsupial, Tasmanian devils engineer their environments, first by keeping feral cat and fox populations in check, allowing smaller native mammals such as Bandicoots and the Long-nosed Potoroo to thrive. These smaller animals, in turn, disperse seeds and enrich the soil, vital for bush regeneration. Tasmanian Devils also serve as a bush cleanup crew. Scavengers by nature, they remove carcasses before they become disease-laden, preserving the health of the environment.
For the past decade, the Aussie Ark Tasmanian devil breeding program has offered these marsupials a free-range sanctuary and breeding opportunities. Nestled in the bushland of Tomalla, New South Wales, the Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary is a lifeline for these endangered animals, and the epicenter of Aussie Ark's Tasmanian Devil conservation efforts. Their aim is to protect Australia’s threatened species and other endangered animals — including the Eastern quoll, Brush-tailed rock-wallaby, and Manning River turtle — by building strong backup populations and restoring healthy ecosystems within their sanctuaries.
In 2020, in a groundbreaking conservation move, the first Tasmanian Devils were reintroduced to the Australian mainland. “The devils were on the mainland only 3,000 years ago,” Faulkner explains, but they’ve been essentially extinct there ever since dingoes were introduced (likely by traders) to outcompete them. “The better the recovery in Tassie,” he says, “the more scope we have to work with [on the] mainland.”
There are always risks with moving species, however. Ecologists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) assessed the impacts of reintroducing Tasmanian devils to parts of Southeastern New South Wales, predicting how a range of ecosystems would respond to the presence of the devils.
“There are large areas where the dingo is gone, and we need a predator who can suppress fox numbers. The devil is the obvious answer,” says PhD candidate Daniel Hunter from the UNSW School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences. “[The devil] doesn't pose as serious a risk to livestock, and it has played a major role in stopping foxes from establishing a foothold in Tasmania.” The assessment results suggest reduced feral animal populations, in turn benefiting smaller mammals, such as bandicoots and ringtail possum. And of course, the introduction would help the long-term survival of the species itself.
The reintroduction program began in an expansive 400-hectare fenced environment that allowed for monitoring of the devil’s progress and its impacts on the local environment. The conservationists at Aussie Ark spent a decade learning everything they could about the devils — their reproductive physiology, behavior, and ecological needs — to help ensure the reintroduction’s success. Today, the devils have not only survived — they’ve thrived.
Liz Gabriel, Aussie Ark’s director, noted that “in zoo populations, the animals found it difficult to act as a wild animal would. In 2011, Devil Ark became a reality, where we put the fence in place, and released our first forty-four Tasmanian devils. In 2020, we opened our first free sanctuary where they are able to live in a massive wild environment; through to today, where we’re seeing so many babies and our 500th devil joey born.”
Tim Faulkner notes that Tasmanian devils came “within a whisker” of extinction. Aussie Ark is now in its thirteenth year of protecting and managing this “insurance population of one of Australia’s most iconic and endangered species,” and the birth of the 500th joey is significant, he says. “We got them through that.”
As the world faces unprecedented biodiversity loss, success stories like Aussie Ark’s Tasmanian Devil breeding program provide inspiration and a roadmap. The milestone serves as a potent reminder of the importance of conservation initiatives globally, and of how coordinated efforts like this can yield tangible results. The journey to preserve our planet’s unique wildlife is challenging, but as the 500th Joey suggests, with concerted effort, progress is within reach.
