Healesville Sanctuary (part of Zoos Victoria), located about an hour north-east of Melbourne, has debuted three Tasmanian devil joeys, bred as part of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (STDP).
STDP, an initiative of the Australian and Tasmanian governments, was established in 2003, to combat the decline of Tasmanian devils die to devil facial tumour disease (DFTD).
DFTD was first identified in the late 1980s, and is a aggressive non-viral clonally transmissible cancer, which results in soft and ulcerating tissue around the mouth, which can spread to other parts of the body, and between individuals when they eat carcasses communally or bite each other.
In the 20 years since the disease was identified, Tasmanian devil populations declined by 80 per cent, with initial efforts to cull infected individuals showing little success in slowing the disease. To date, there has been no suitable vaccine candidate, and taking devils into captivity for safeguarding and breeding is thus the main prevention method to save the species.
Healesville Sanctuary’s latest devil joeys are six months old, and are now on public view, exploring their new territory.
“Mum Mocha is a really active mother, so the joeys like to follow her lead by coming out of the den when she does,” keeper Bianca said.
“The joeys are at a really cute age. They are still reliant on mum. So, they are still drinking her milk, but they are starting to transition to food. You can see them come out following mum, grabbing her food, back riding and they’re playful with each other.”
This breeding season has been successful for the genetically stable insurance population at the sanctuary, with 13 Tasmanian devil joeys born, ranging in age from four to six months.
The sexes of Mocha’s litter are not yet known, but it’s believed at least one is male and one is female. This will be confirmed in the coming months during health assessments.
While the joeys are also yet to be named, their rambunctious nature is providing some inspiration.
“We name the litters after themes to keep track of who is related to who. We’ve previously had pasta, dumplings and board game themes. This year, we are thinking about a monster theme for the little offspring that visitors can see. We were thinking Mocha’s monsters. We are liking the names Minotaur and Medusa,” Bianca said.
JULIA GARDINER
