Overview of threats to Tasmanian devils other than DFTD
The key threat to the survival of Tasmanian devils in the wild is Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). Managing other threats to the survival of Tasmanian devils is, however, also an important part of the Program's mandate.
Possible other threats may include:
Low genetic diversity
Introduced predators: foxes and cats
Roadkill
Persecution
Habitat loss and fragmentation
Climate change.
So far there are only assumptions about what poses a threat and how critical it may be. The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program is working to establish the facts by expanding our understanding of the extent and impact of possible threats to low density devil populations.
Find out more about other threats to Tasmanian devils.
Ecosystem impacts
The threats facing the survival of the Tasmanian devil in the wild have wide implications for the Tasmanian landscape. To better understand these impacts and to help guide informed management decisions, the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program has established the Ecological Impacts Unit. Like the Program itself, this unit covers a wide range of disciplines and supporting institutions. Several current PhD projects supported by the Program are specifically designed to answer fundamental questions such as changes in landscape ecology with respect to emergence of DFTD and impacts on other native meso-predators and small mammals.
Tasmanian
devils are thought to be less susceptible to the threat of habitat loss than
many marsupial carnivores because they are highly mobile and can happily exist
in a variety of vegetations.
In
some areas, however, there aren't many sites suitable for denning. If dens were
destroyed in these areas, it could have a significant effect on devil numbers.
This would be particularly concerning in areas where the devil population is
already reduced and females are producing only one litter in a lifetime.
The
habitat requirements of Tasmanian devils include:
Places to hide and shelter during the day,
such as dense vegetation, hollow logs, burrows or caves;
Areas with open understorey mixed with dense
patches to allow hunting; and,
Soil suitable for burrowing for maternal
dens.
For
devils, the combination of these features within the habitat is more important
than any particular vegetation community or habitat type.
Most
of Tasmania is suitable devil habitat - native bush, forestry plantations and
pasture. Preferred habitats include coastal scrub or heathland, sclerophyll
forest, and mixed patches of grazing land and open forest or woodland.
Since
European settlement, devil habitat has been lost through clearing for
agriculture, forest plantations, extractive industries and residential
development, especially in eastern Tasmania. The level, and type, of effect
clearing has on devils depends on whether patches of bush are left, and the
type of land use.
Foxes
The introduction into Tasmania of the red fox, is of serious concern to the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program. Foxes would compete directly with Tasmanian devil juveniles. Both species share preferences for den sites and habitat, and are of similar size.
Roadkill Project
We launched the Tasmanian devil Roadkill Project in December 2009.
An estimated 2000 Tasmanian devils are killed on our roads each year. The Roadkill Project is collecting information to find out how significant roadkill is to the survival of devil populations depleted by Devil Facial Tumour Disease.
