Hannah Siddle

There is a real threat that this contagious cancer could now spread very rapidly through the population, the Tasmanian devil has already been decimated by one contagious cancer and these latest findings could jeopardize its future in the wild.

Although this could be very bad news for the Tasmanian devil, we are in a better position than we were when the first contagious cancer emerged. We are further ahead with research and with developing captive management strategies, however, this is a warning to how we manage not just the Tasmanian devil but all vulnerable species, particularly those confined to islands, where disease is a real threat and can do a lot of damage quickly.