Friday, 23 May 2008

Tasmanian Devils Listed As Endangered

Update 31 August 2008: A video about the evolution of the cancer devastating the Tasmanian Devil population can be seen here. New strains have been identified. Tasmanian Devils immune to the older strain might still succumb to the new strains.

The Tasmanian government has reclassified the status of the Tasmanian Devils from vulnerable to endangered. Suffering from facial cancer that usually kills the animals within months, these creatures face extinction in another 10 to 20 years!

The disease is genetically identical from a single cell line (errr... I really don't understand this part) in all the Tasmanian Devils and were spread through fighting with each other. The good news is, some of them have developed antibodies. There may still be hope.

Source: Star Online World Updates

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