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According to an article in the Huffington post today, The Tasmanian Devil from Australia is becoming very endangered in the wild due to a highly lethal contagious cancer.
It article stated the cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) has killed off up to 90% of the Tasmanian devil population since it was first observed in 1996, according to Scientific American. The cancer fills the animal’s mouth with tumors, causing it to starve to death. The cancer is transmitted easily between Tasmanian devils because they bite each other while mating and fighting.
Sanctuaries are currently being built to isolate disease-free devils, in the hopes of breeding them and then releasing the animal back to the wild in the future.
