Tasmanian devils, the carnivorous marsupials whose feisty, frenzied eating habits won the animals cartoon fame, have returned to mainland Australia for the first time in some 3,000 years.
About a decade ago, 3,000 little penguins called Maria Island, an island east of Tasmania, their home.But when Tasmania devils were introduced in 2012, the penguin population slowly started to decrease.
Tasmanian devils were brought to the island to be isolated from the contagious devil facial tumor disease.
In 2012, only 28 devils were released on the island which grew to 100 by 2016
“Every time humans have deliberately or accidentally introduced mammals to oceanic islands, there’s always been the same outcome … a catastrophic impact on one or more bird species,†Eric Woehler, representative of BirdLife Tasmania told The Guardian“It’s very clear that the devils have had a catastrophic ecological impact on the bird fauna on Maria Island," Woehler said.Â
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