First Tasmanian devils born on mainland Australia for 3,000 years

Tasmanian devils are the world’s largest carnivorous marsupials, reaching 30 inches in length and weighing up to 26 pounds

For the first time in 3,000 years, Tasmanian devils were born on the Australian mainland (AFP via Getty Images)

A conservation group says Tasmanian devils have been born in the wild on mainland Australia after more than 3,000 years, sparking joy among wildlife enthusiasts.

In an Instagram post, Australian nonprofit Aussie Ark said that seven Tasmanian devil joeys were born into the 400 hectare Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary in New South Wales.

The conservation group said in the post: “We have been working tirelessly for the better part of 10 years to return Devils to the wild of mainland Australia with the hope that they would establish a sustainable population.

“Once they were back, it was entirely up to them,” the post said. “We had been watching them from afar until it was time to step in and confirm the birth of our first wild joeys.”

Tasmanian devils vanished on the mainland after the arrival of dingoes, a species of wild dogs, and were just restricted to the island of Tasmania. Their population also suffered a blow after Devil Facial Tumour Disease, a contagious type of cancer, devastated their numbers. Experts say DFTD killed almost 90 per cent of their population.

According to National Geographic, Tasmanian devils are “feisty mammals” and have a coat of coarse brown or black fur and a stocky profile that gives them the appearance of a baby bear.

They are the world’s largest carnivorous marsupials reaching 30 inches in length and weighing up to 26 pounds, although National Geographic says on its website that “its size will vary widely depending on where it lives and the availability of food”.

In September last year, Aussie Ark had introduced 11 Tasmanian devils back in the wild in mainland Australia. This meant there were 26 on the mainland — earlier the group had brought 15 for a trial.

Only months after their release in the wild, the Tasmanian devils have successfully reproduced. Conservationists have confirmed the presence of the juvenile marsupials – the size of shelled peanuts – inside the pouches of the mothers.

Tasmanian devils have a reputation for “flying into a rage when threatened by a predator, fighting for a mate, or defending a meal”. These behaviours are what inspired the snarling, fiendish Looney Tunes portrayal of Taz, a Tasmanian devil.

Female Tasmanian devils give birth to about 20 to 40 joeys at once, according to Tourism Australia. They are scavengers that are known to keep their environment free from disease.

Aussie Ark maintains that in Tasmania, there are only 25,000 devils left in the wild. In a video posted on Instagram, Tim Faulkner, president of Aussie Ark said: “We’ve been able to historically — albeit in its infancy — return the devil to the mainland, and today is another milestone entirely.”

The Tasmanian devil babies crawl up the mother’s fur and into her pouch. The mother has only four nipples so not every one born survives. These babies then stay in the mother’s pouch for about three months. By month six, they are generally weaned.

In 1941, the government made the devils a protected species in Australia.

In 2003, the Tasmanian state government launched its Save the Tasmanian Devil Program in a bid to increase their population that had dwindled from 140,000 to just 2,000 due to DFTD.