Tasmanian Devils: Endangered
In the mid 1990’s, a catastrophic illness was discovered which killed tens of thousands of Tasmanian devils.
The illness was a strain of cancer called Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD). As the title says, it is a very dangerous, fast spreading and contagious cancer which causes lumps on its head, making it impossible for the animal to eat. Due to the disease, most of the Tasmanian devils starved to death. After the terrible outbreak, the Australian government has listed the Tasmanian devil as endangered and hired animal health experts to help the little creatures.
While the Tasmanian devils are endangered, there are many breeding programs to help the animals escape the “endangered” category.