After Three Thousand Years, The Tasmanian Devil Returns To The Australian Wild

Tasmanian demons (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - The largest surviving marsupial carnivore in the world, the tasmanian devil aka the tasmanian devil has finally returned to the wild on mainland Australia. This is the first in three thousand years.

Actors Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky have joined the conservation group since September. Now the two of them are participating in releasing eleven tasmanian devils to a wildlife sanctuary in New South Wales.

The tasmanian demon, which is about the size of a small dog, is known and popular by the character Taz in the Looney Tunes cartoon. Since 2008, the tasmanian devil has been declared endangered and has entered the UN's 'red list'.

"This is the first time in three thousand years or so that the tasmanian devil has explored the mainland forests of Australia. And as an apex predator, this is very important," said Tim Faulkner, president of the Aussie Ark conservation group, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, October 6.

The Aussie Ark, which has worked on a conservation program with Global Wildlife Conservation and WildArk, has been breeding young tasmanian devils all this time. After this release, they will release another 20 next year and another 20 the following year.

Faulkner called the tasmania demon release activity a "monumental" moment in rebuilding Australia's ecosystem. "This devil-devil release will be the first of many releases," he said.

"We have bred nearly 400 tasmanian devil chicks, and we are now at a point where we can release some to return to the wild," he added.

Says Hemsworth, "We have set some traps to catch tasmanian devils and then we will release them into the wild."

The Tasmanian devil is almost extinct from mainland Australia after being hunted by dingoes. The marsupials were confined on the island of Tasmania. However, their numbers in that ecosystem have also decreased since the 1990s due to facial tumor disease.

Australia has the world's worst mammal extinction rate. Re-captivity will help the country rebalance an ecology damaged by an influx of invading predators, Faulkner said.

The tasmanian devil or sarcophilus harrisii is a carnivorous marsupial of the dasyuridae family. The animal is originally from mainland Australia and is only found in the wild in the State of Tasmania. The animal has now been reintroduced to New South Wales with a small breeding population.