For the last three-thousand years, after the introduction of dingoes to Australia, the entire global population of Tasmanian devils has been restricted to the island of Tasmania. Since 1996, a deadly illness unique to the devils has claimed roughly 90% percent of their numbers, reducing them to a mere 25,000 wild individuals. In the hope that these unique creatures will recover in spectacular fashion, a group of heroic conservationists with Aussie Ark have worked to bring them home to Australia. After much research and experimentation, twenty-six individual devils now call Australia home.
Aussie Ark's president, Tim Faulkner, says,"In 100 years, we are going to be looking back at this day as the day that set in motion the ecological restoration of an entire country. Not only is this the reintroduction of one of Australia's beloved animals, but of an animal that will engineer the entire environment around it, restoring and rebalancing our forest ecology after centuries of devastation from introduced foxes and cats and other invasive predators."
"This is our response to that threat of despair: come what may, ultimately we will not be deterred in our efforts to put an end to extinction and to rewild Australia."
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