THE LAST PERSON TO POST HERE WINS - 24

These are two Tasmanian Devils at the sanctuary today. Next to the watering hole. Whose watering hole, you may ask ? Well, let's call them Lefty and Righty.

After much yelling ( a very evil sound, hence their name ) and posturing Lefty swiped Righty, a fair smack on the bum ! Righty ran away and Lefty had a drink. Standard Aussie pub rules then .... :-)

Lefty and Righty are products of a captive breeding program, so far successful, to restock them in the wild. A few years ago a meiotic driven genetic mutation causing a very fatal cancer dropped populations by more than ninety five percent. The driven bit is where the mutation is preferentially included in the germ cells, a nasty mechanism that causes the mutation to spread rapidly. Individuals usually live for about five to six years and normally breed at around fifteen months, so it didn't take long with that population turnover. It was traced to a single mutation in one female. Anyhows a combination of different lineages from populations in separate zoos has yielded a clean blood line. The descendants have been released onto an island in Bass Strait ( b/w Tasmania and the mainland ) which previously had none. This group will be the pool to ultimately restock Tasmania, but after they have learnt to live wild again.

Cheers, Mike.

( edit ) Yes, they are evil little blinders for sure. Not cuddly. They are classified as carnivorous marsupials ( young raised in pouches like kangaroos ) and have been known to bite human fingers clean off. Just my type of mammal actually & so I sponsor the program to return these Darwinian "beasties from hell" back into original habitat. For preference they devour socialist greenie yuppies pony-tailed-eco-warriors small animals that hike ride camp write poetry live in the Tassie bushland.