The bold plan to bring back Tasmanian devils across mainland Australia 🌏️

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Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) lived on the Australian mainland once upon a time, but it is thought that they disappeared from here around 3000 years ago, probably because of the arrival of Australia’s native dog, the dingo (Canis lupus dingo), along with pressure from humans and climate change.

Now, however, throughout much of south-eastern Australia, the dingo is also mostly gone, hunted and baited because it is a pest to farmers. Consequently, non-native feral cats and foxes have torn through native fauna, especially small mammals, leading to a cascade of extinctions and endangered populations.

Conservationists now have a bold plan to bring back Tasmanian devils across mainland Australia. They are already being released inside predator-proof sanctuaries in New South Wales, and rewilding advocates believe they could suppress feral cats and foxes across the continent.

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