Tasmanian devils spin the clock back - 7th October 2020

This Tasmanian devil is making ecological history, being the first to live wild on Australia's mainland in 3,000 years.

Aided in their comeback by conservationists from non-profits such as Aussie Ark, 26 marsupials have been set loose in a sanctuary outside Sydney.

Tim Faulkner is Aussie Ark's president.

"This release of devils will be the first of many. We're talking something monumental, a real mark in history, the return of devil to mainland."

Australia's largest surviving marsupial carnivore, reaching 8kg in weight through hunting and carrion, their role in the ecosystem's rewilding is pivotal, maintains Faulkner.

"We've got the feral fox and feral cat wreaking havoc on our natives. And a control measure, a natural control measure, like a devil, back in the environment could be the only natural solution we have to protecting our natives."

While the species was obliterated on the mainland due to the dingo, an invasive predator from Asia, the devil's modern Tasman population was decimated by a contagious disease in the 1990s, leaving only 25,000 remaining in the wild. Consequently, establishing a mainland population would bolster the species chances of survival.