Page 12 - aruba-today-20201010

A12 science
Saturday 10 OctOber 2020
Feisty Tasmanian devils roaming Australian mainland again

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — on carrion in competition
Tasmanian devils, the car- with the devils.
nivorous marsupials whose "There is an argument that
feisty, frenzied eating hab- by putting devils into a situ-
its won the animals car- ation where you stop the
toon fame, have returned other carnivores scaveng-
to mainland Australia for ing is that those animals,
the first time in some 3,000 like cats and foxes, will sim-
years. ply start hunting. You could
"Seeing those devils re- actually make a conserva-
leased into a wild land- tion problem where it didn't
scape — it's a really emo- exist before," said Mooney.
tional moment," said Liz There's also a matter of rep-
Gabriel, director of con- utation. While devils tend
servation group Aussie Ark, to feed on small mammals
which led the release effort they're also known to eat
in partnership with other the carcasses of cattle and
conservation groups. sheep, potentially making
The 11 most recently re- them a nuisance to farm-
leased devils began ex- ers.
ploring their new home "When you do big interven-
once they were freed from tions like this, there needs to
round, white cages at be buy-in from the commu-
the nearly 1,000-acre Bar- nity, particularly those who
rington Tops wildlife refuge are affected in the com-
in New South Wales state, In this Jan. 13, 2009, file photo Tasmanian devil cubs search for food during a feeding session in munity," said Jones. "There
about 190 kilometers (120 their enclosure at Sydney's Taronga Zoo. needs to be consultation."
miles) north of Sydney. Associated Press For now, the devils released
Tasmanian devils, which this year and those expect-
were once called Sarcoph- of them together likely — which passes between on the mainland in a pro- ed to be released in com-
ilus satanicus or "Satanic caused the devil to be- devils through their bites tected wild landscape. ing years won't go into the
flesh-lover," went extinct in come extinct on the main- while mating and causes Gabriel said Aussie Ark aims wild just yet. Instead they
mainland Australia before land," she said. large tumors that prevent for devils eventually to live will receive supplementary
the arrival of Europeans. Devils have been protect- them from eating — re- in non-protected areas in feedings and be monitored
Scientists believe the intro- ed in Australia since 1941, duced the population from mainland Australia, with the by remote cameras, with
duction of carnivorous din- and conservationists have some 140,000 to as few as hope the devils will contrib- some devils tagged with
goes, a surge in the indig- worked to bolster their 20,000. ute to keeping cat and fox GPS trackers to learn more
enous human population, populations for years, cit- In response, researchers populations under control. about how they adjust in
and a devastating dry sea- ing their importance as top established an insurance Some experts question their new environment, said
son cause by a prolonged predators who can sup- population of cancer-free whether the introduction Gabriel.
El Nino caused the devil press invasive species — devils in wild-type enclo- would have that hoped-for "We dream of many more
to migrate to present-day like foxes and feral cats — sures in Australia's island level of impact. sanctuaries with devils in
Tasmania, said University of and in turn protect smaller state of Tasmania. But the Nick Mooney, an Australia them and really growing
Tasmania ecologist Menna species and biodiversity. releases in July and Sep- conservationist who has the numbers of the species
Jones. One of the biggest blows to tember are the first time worked with Tasmanian to protect that species, but
"I think any one of those conservation efforts came the squat mammals — all of devils for some 40 years, also the animals in the en-
three factors alone prob- in the 1990s when a com- which have tested nega- said feral felines are likely to vironment around them,"
ably wouldn't have caused municable cancer called tive for the contagious can- return to hunting for a food she said. "This is just the
extinction — but the three devil facial tumor disease cer — have been released source rather than relying beginning."q

Prince William, David Attenborough launch 'Earthshot' award

LONDON (AP) — Prince Wil- William, who has been im- by 2030. The first five Earth-
liam has joined forces with mersed in environmental shots center on protecting
renowned British broad- issues all his life, said the and restoring nature, clean
caster and naturalist David same resources used to air, reviving oceans, build-
Attenborough to launch a tackle the coronavirus pan- ing a waste-free world and
new environmental award demic should be devoted fixing the climate. "We very
Thursday, the Earthshot to saving the natural world. much hope that even if we
Prize, which has grand "According to the experts, can't necessarily change
ambitions to "incentivize it really is the point of no the world in ten years' time
change and help to repair return," he told Sky News. just from the prize alone,
our planet over the next 10 "We have 10 years to fun- what we do hope is that,
years." damentally fix our planet." just like the Moonshot land-
The prize takes its inspira- The plan envisions five priz- ings where they developed
tion from the Moonshot es of 1 million pounds ($1.3 cat scanners, X-ray ma-
challenge that President million) awarded each chines, breathing appara-
In this undated photo provided by Kensington Palace on John F. Kennedy set for the year for the next 10 years, tus, stuff like that I think has
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, Britain's Prince William, right and Nat- U.S. in 1961 to put a man on providing at least 50 solu- been really, really impor-
uralist Sir David Attenborough react as they disicuss the Earth-
shot Prize at Kensington Palace, in London. the moon by the end of the tions to the world's greatest tant to come out of that,"
Associated Press decade. environmental problems William said.q