Tasmanian devils down to two
With the death earlier this week of Makayla, the Tasmanian devil, the ABQ BioPark Zoo has two Tasmanian devils remaining — both female.
Makayla died in her sleep Tuesday at the ripe old age of 8, exceeding the normal life expectancy of 5 to 6 years, according to zoo officials.
Makayla and three other Tasmanian devils came to the BioPark from the Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria, Australia, in December 2013.
The ABQ BioPark is one of only a few U.S. facilities chosen to house Tasmanian devils. The zoo at one time had five of the carnivorous marsupials.
Jasper, a male Tasmanian devil, died less than a year after arriving. A veterinarian-performed necropsy showed that Jasper died from a fractured skull and brain trauma.
A piece of asphalt found nearby led investigators to initially surmise that someone threw the chunk into the
enclosure, knocking poor Jasper on the noggin and killing him.
People were outraged. The BioPark Society offered a reward of $6,000, a Corrales woman put up an additional $5,000 and the Crime Stoppers program offered $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of any individuals involved in Jasper’s death.
The city of Albuquerque paid $9,000 to a private investigations firm that re-created the “crime scene” and concluded Jasper likely died when a propped up log in the exhibit space slipped off another log and hit him.
A second male, Sylar, was 5½ years old when he died in October 2016 from pneumonia and heart disease, both considered common illnesses in older Tasmanian devils.
That leaves two females: Poppi, who is also about 8, and Mia, who is 5½ and joined the zoo in September 2015.
Tasmanian devils are native to the Australian island state of Tasmania. Zoo officials said they are currently in talks with the Australian government to get authorization for more of the animals.
Tasmanian devil populations have been decimated in the wild by a highly contagious cancer, Devil Facial Tumor Disease, or DFTD, which is spread through biting — a normal part of the animal’s competitive feeding and mating behaviors. There is no treatment or cure for DFTD.
The animals are listed as an endangered species, with no more than 25,000 mature adults remaining in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.