Aussie Ark is celebrating today with the announcement of our best Tasmanian Devil breeding season ever!

Pouch checks have revealed 69 Tasmanian Devil joeys born in 2019 – an incredible 44% increase from 2018.

The wild population of Tasmanian Devils has decreased by 90% since 1996, with the iconic Australian animal facing extinction due to the contagious Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

Aussie Ark was founded in 2011 with the mission to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction with today’s milestone giving the team a big reason to celebrate.

“The Aussie Ark team has been working hard all year to ensure the health and wellbeing of our devils, and we are over the moon with excitement at 69 joeys – our best ever breeding season yet,” Aussie Ark President Tim Faulkner said.

“These joeys have the weight of their species on them as insurance populations, meaning that if Tasmanian devils in the wild do go extinct, we won’t lose these animals forever.”

Aussie Ark has the largest devil population outside of Tasmania and the most successful breeding program on the mainland. 

Tasmanian devil mums give birth to up to four young, which stay in the pouch for about four months. They remain with the mother for a further five to six months before becoming independent.

These joeys and their mums were some of the animals released to Aussie Ark’s largest-ever sanctuary in late 2019. The Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary is fully fenced to ensure it remains feral free and will be home to a number of Aussie Ark species.

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