From Deseret News archives:
Strange disease strikes wild Tasmanian devils
A year ago, they left their mother's birth canal and made their way to her pouch. There, each locked onto a teat and grew like gangbusters.
But within months, their mother developed devil facial tumor disease, a mysterious malady. Shortly after she died, the baby devils were found dangling from their mother's pouch, starving to death.
Rescued and reared by hand, Rosie, Harry and Clyde recently joined six similarly orphaned devils at the Launceston Lakes and Wildlife Park, all in strict quarantine. The fate of their species — Sarcophilus harrisii — may lie in what happens to them in the next 12 to 18 months.
"If they contract the disease, devils may be headed for extinction in the wild," said Nick Mooney, a wildlife biologist with Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment in Hobart.
Right now, wildlife experts are struggling to comprehend the nature of the fast-moving epidemic. Moving at a rate of six to 10 miles a year, it is 100 percent fatal. Nearly half of the estimated 150,000 devils in Tasmania are now dead.
Devil facial tumor disease is grotesque; the mother of Rosie and her brothers died when tumors ballooned out of her face and neck, choking off her ability to eat. It is also an extraordinary puzzle. Scientists do not understand its cause, mode of transmission, time from infection until the tumors appear, or potential to infect other species.
Dr. Stephen Pyecroft is spearheading the government's investigation into what is causing the disease. The leading theory is that devil facial tumor disease is caused by a transmissible tumor cell, Pyecroft said. It goes like this: About a decade ago, a random cell mutation occurred in a single animal. This devil developed tumors on or near its face. When another devil bit into the tumor, it was infected with tumor cells. With time, tumor cells were passed around, spreading the disease.
Rosie, Harry and Clyde are living with other orphans. "We usually don't see the disease until after the animals turn 2 years old," said Heather Hesterman, another biologist on the team. If they show no signs of disease, they will be bred to ensure survival of their species.
Veterinarians will watch the orphans for the next year or so to see what happens.
"We have so many question marks, so little time," Hesterman said.
