The fox like animals with powerful jaws and a bloodcurdling growl -- made famous by their Looney Toons namesake -- are being wiped out on the island state of Tasmania by a contagious cancer that creates grotesque facial tumors.
The disease was first noticed in the mid-1990s in the state's northeast, where 90 percent of the devils have since perished. It is spreading south and west, and scientists estimate that within five years, there will be no disease-free population in Tasmania -- the only place in the world where the devils exist outside zoos.
"I think there's a real risk of extinction within 20 years across the whole of Tasmania," said Hamish McCallum, a professor of wildlife research at the University of Tasmania.
McCallum is among a group of specialists who plan to transfer 30 devils off Tasmania's east coast to Maria Island -- a former 19th-century prison site that is now home to several endangered species of birds.
The move, which state and federal governments are expected to approve within weeks, is controversial because scientists can only speculate about the impact the introduced carnivores will have on the uninhabited island's ecology.
"This is a very unusual situation, and very unusual situations require unusual action," McCallum said.
"I don't want to get into an argument about whether a devil is worth more than a forty-spotted pardalote," he said, referring to an endangered bird species that has made Maria Island its home. "But in my opinion, the risk posed to endangered species by devils would be minimal."
David Obendorf, a veterinary pathologist who in 2000 sounded one of the first warnings of the threat to the devils, said several specialists share his concerns about the plan.
"It's clearly an experiment, and I think they are considering the need to act decisively and quickly because this disease is more important than the consequences," Obendorf said.
Karesh, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's field veterinary program, said that when introducing a species to a habitat, it's "always a possibility" the animals will conflict with their new environment, though he said the science behind such moves is now very sophisticated.
One of the greatest risks is that the relocated species may fall victim to a disease they have no resistance to in their new home, he said.
Luke Hunter, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's great cats program, said the plan did not strike him as overly risky because Maria Island is similar to the devils' natural habitat.
" It's not a stretch of the imagination that they can survive there," said Hunt, an expert on animal translocation programs.
