How is the Tasmanian devil affected?
Devil facial tumour disease was first observed on a Tasmanian devil in 1996 by a wildlife photographer in Mount William National Park, north-east Tasmania. Initially dismissed as a single random case of a strange facial growth, the disease began to spread across the island. It is transmitted by the transfer of cancer cells that occurs when devils bite each other on the face, for example, during feeding, fighting and mating. The cancer kills devils within six to nine months and there is no treatment.
