Tasmanian devil baby boom sparks conservation celebration
Rangers report the strongest joey season in more than two decades.
In sanctuaries across Tasmania, keepers are running out of names. This season's joey count is the highest recorded since monitoring began — a rare piece of good news for a species long overshadowed by disease.
Improved genetic diversity from decades of careful breeding appears to be paying off. Devil facial tumour disease, once thought likely to drive the species to extinction, is retreating in several key populations.
A cautious return to the wild
Small groups of healthy devils are already being released into fenced mainland reserves. Ecologists hope that within a decade, the mainland could hear the animal's famous shriek for the first time in 3,000 years.
"They are ferocious, they are hilarious, and they are ours," one keeper said. "Losing them was never an option."
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