Posted on 05/23/2009 7:10:47 AM PDT by JoeProBono
CANBERRA, Australia – The Tasmanian devil, a snarling fox-sized marsupial made notorious by its Looney Tunes cartoon namesake Taz, was listed in Australia as an endangered species Friday because of a contagious cancer that has wiped out most of the wild population. The upgrade from "vulnerable" under Australian environmental law entitles the world's largest marsupial carnivore to greater protection in the island state of Tasmania, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said in a statement.
Devils do not exist in the wild outside Tasmania, although mainland zoos are breeding captive populations as a strategy against total extinction. Their numbers have declined by 70 percent since the facial cancer was first reported in 1996. The disease is caused by bites inflicted on each other's faces as part of a bizarre mating ritual or while squabbling over food. It causes grotesque facial tumors that eventually prevent them from feeding, leading to starvation within months. "Strong action is being taken to find out more about this disease and to stop its spread," Garrett said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I am sure. It is a very, very, bad idea.
Read somewhere that T-devils become strangely docile when held by human hands.
Still don’t believe I’d want those steel trap jaws THAT up close and personal.
What the heck, they’re dying off precisely because of all that biting and fighting.
Hmmmm. Tell us more. :D
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