An adult male Tasmanian Devil named Tex looks out from behind a log in his enclosure at Sydney's Taronga Zoo October 17, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photos)
Australia's Tasmanian Devil joins endangered list via Xinhuanet
The Tasmanian Devil, one of Australian's iconic native species and the world's largest surviving marsupial carnivore, will be listed as an endangered species, Environment Minister, Peter Garrett announced Friday.
Previously, the Tasmanian Devil was listed as vulnerable.
Garrett said in a statement on Friday the uplisting meant the species was under continued threat and the population was continuing to decline, but it would now get greater protection under national environment law.
"My decision to uplist the Tasmanian devil is based on advice from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee which lists the Devil Facial Tumour Disease as the major threat to the devil."
Garrett said, "This disease has led to the decline of about 70 percent of the Tasmanian devil population since the disease was first reported in 1996."
"The Australian Government has already committed 10 million dollars (7.75 million U.S. dollars) over five years to the Save the Tasmanian Devil program."
"This is to help with research into disease transmission and treatment, and will support captive and wild populations," he said.
The Tasmanian Devil has the strongest bite force of any living mammal on Earth.
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