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| Tasmanian Devil |
The Threatened Species team at Healesville Sanctuary predict that up to five of our female Tasmanian Devils will breed this year, contributing further to the critically important insurance population.
Katniss' joeys will stay with her until they are 10 months old, when they will leave her den to begin learning behaviours from other devils as well as how to socialise in preparation for their breeding years.
The breeding success doesn't end there. In November 2013, eight Tasmanian Devils born at Healesville Sanctuary were released into the wild on Maria Island off the south-east coast of Tasmania. They were part of a group of 11. A year after release, monitoring surveys confirmed that the females released have pouch young. “This is a fantastic result for Tasmanian Devils and Healesville Sanctuary as it tells us that we are able to breed devils at the Sanctuary that have the skills to breed and survive in the wild,” Dr Melanie Lancaster, Life Sciences Manager, Conservation and Research, said.
“Katniss' joeys – and those born in the wild - are an important contribution to the Save the Tasmanian Devil insurance population that Healesville Sanctuary has played a big part in developing and maintaining.”
The Tasmanian Devil faces extinction due to the Devil Facial Tumour Disease. Healesville Sanctuary holds one of the largest mainland captive population of disease-free devils and works with the Save the Tasmanian Devil breeding program as part of Zoos Victoria's fight to save the Tasmanian Devil from extinction.
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