Tasmanian devils threatened by extinction  
Friday, October 5th, 2007

Tasmanian devils, in nature found only on Australia's island state of Tasmania, are fighting a fatal facial tumor cancer that is contagious through biting each other.  Tasmanian devils bite each other during both fighting and mating.  The cancer has already killed half of the tasmanian devils' population, and scientists say they are just as likely to succumb to many other diseases, since their gene pool is so small.

Kathy Belov, a geneticist and leader of the scientific team at Sydney University, told Australian Broadcasting Corp., "What this means is that they are going to be susceptible, not only to this horrible cancer that is decimating them at the moment, but potentially to all sorts of other diseases, because they simply don't have the genetic diversity in their genes, which will enable them to respond to any new diseases thrown at them."

The cancer has been devastating the devils' population for 10 years.  Once an animal acquires it from another, its mouth fills with tumors that make it impossible for it to eat, leading to starvation and death.  Scientists are now using a "Noah's Ark" program to send healthy Tasmanian devils to zoos and sanctuaries on the mainland in hopes of isolating cancer-free devils until the disease can be treated or eliminated.

   

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