A group of healthy Tasmanian Devils has been found in a remote part of the Australian island-state of Tasmania, reigniting hope to save the endangered species from going extinct.
The marsupials, found only in Tasmania, have suffered from a contagious Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) that has decimated more than 80 percent of its population in the past two decades.
The 14 individual animals, free of the deadly infectious disease, were found by scientists during their eight-day conservation expedition in the island's south-west Wreck Bay and Nye Bay area, David Pemberton, Save the Tasmanian Devil program manager told dpa on Sunday.
The trapped animals ranged in age from 18 months to five years old.
"The finding if very significant," Pemberton told dpa on Sunday. "The major thing is the geographical location where the Devils were found is totally isolated from the rest of the population."
"We are certain there are more of them," he added.
The Devil that got its name from growl-like scream is the world's largest carnivorous marsupial. An adult is up to 70 centimeters long and weighs 12 kilograms.
Scientists collected excrement to look at the Devils' microbiome, in addition to tissue from ear biopsies. The samples are currently being analyzed in labs to study of the genetic diversity of the healthy Devils and compare them to the infected populations.
"Finding Devils with fresh genetic diversity will give us an opportunity to perhaps save the population," Pemberton said, adding the devils are like cheetahs with limited genetic diversity.
Catherine Grueber, a population genetics scholar and post-doctorate fellow at San Diego Zoo Global, said finding the healthy Devils is important because their population, studied so far, in the rest of Tasmania has "declined rapidly and are fragmented."
"The Devils have lost genetic diversity and are prone to inbreeding, which is obviously harmful, and leads to hordes of other problems," Grueber told dpa on Sunday.
According to researchers, the rapid spread of the disease in the population is due to the low genetic diversity, which also means there is a lack of diversity in immune responses.
"When we find a population, like the ones in the south-west, there is a potential to have genetic diversity, which is exciting because we could move and mix them a bit more," Grueber said.
"It gives us hope for their survival."
"Genetic diversity is important for the long-term prospect. If they are becoming more similar to one other, a new disease could wipe the entire population, among other problems."
The deadly DFTD causes horrific disfigurement, with agonizing ulcers in the mouth and throat that prevent the animals from eating. It is passed between them when they fight or mate.
Scientists are afraid that if the disease is not managed, the species could be wiped out in a few years, just like the Tasmanian tiger, the last of which died in 1936.
Pemberton said the impact of the loss of the devils in maintaining the local ecosystem in Tasmania is detrimental.
"Tasmanian devils are important because they are the top carnivore after the Tasmanian tiger went extinct. It is not just that we will lose a unique species but also the impact it will have on the local ecosystem," Grueber agreed.
"So, maintaining a good and healthy population is really important."
