First snowfall for the year - otherwise quiet on the Tops. Kevin and Tye woke up to the first snowfall of the season at Devil Ark this morning.  Judging by the extent of fresh tracks, it appears that the devils had a big night in the Tasmania-like conditions.

Only a light snow cover, but maybe a sign of bigger things to come.

Apparently, between snowball fights, Tye (pictured here with his first-ever snowman) and Kevin managed to get through their work.

Award-winning documentary film-maker Lindsay Fraser has produced an excellent short promotional video on the Devil Ark home page http://www.devilark.com.au/ that is well worth a look. The guys at the Reptile Park who worked on the project seem to be very pleased with the result – one (Chris Wallace) asking for a DVD version to send to his mother – a clear endorsement!

With the landslide election results in NSW, we are now assured of the funding assistance indicated in the 22 March blog entry – a great election result for the Tasmanian devil! We recognise and greatly appreciate the sincere efforts of several outgoing Central Coast elected representatives to secure funding from the previous government – and wish them success in all future endeavours. We now look forward to working with a vibrant new State government that appears to have a very strong interest in nature conservation.

An exciting day yesterday, with the announcement by NSW Shadow Minister for the Environment, Catherine Cusack announcing support for the Devil Ark program.
Ms Cusack pledged that an O’Farrell Government would provide $600,000 funding ($150,000 per annum for 4 years) to support the ongoing expansion of the Barrington Tops project. “Sadly the iconic Tasmanian Devil is experiencing a cataclysmic event, with 80% of its population already wiped out. Thousands of Devils are dying of painful facial cancer as it sweeps across Tasmania. Despite the frantic efforts by scientists there is no viable vaccine or cure on the horizon. ‘Devil Ark’ is meeting the challenge by developing a large component of the “insurance population” on the disease free Australian mainland. This is conservation at its most fundamental level,” Ms Cusack said. The Shadow Minister’s televised announcement can be viewed at: http://www.nbntv.com.au/index.php/2011/03/21/tassie-devils-cast-their-vote/ . This funding will contribute meaningfully to the challenge of Devil Ark, which aims to hold 360 Tasmanian devils by 2016, with scope to increase that population to 1,000 devils by 2020 if so directed by the overarching Tasmania-based Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.

After ten days the Devil Ark 'pioneer' devils have well and truly settled in, with regular detection from camera traps throughout the facility, including feeding stations.

(The day after!)

The following URLs provide media coverage from the big day. We are extremely grateful for the continuing support and interest of the national, state and local media.

http://www.nbntv.com.au/index.php/2011/01/21/dollars-needed-to-save-tassie-devils/

http://www.sconeadvocate.com.au/news/local/news/general/devils-released-at-tomalla/2052628.aspx

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/nsw-breeding-progam-plans-to-halt-tassie-devil-extinction/story-e6freuzr-1225891417327

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-act/having-a-devil-of-a-time-saving-the-endangered/story-e6freuzi-1225990594451

http://ten.com.au/video-player.htm?movideo_p=40983&movideo_m=87892

http://video.news.com.au/1749699643/Saving-the-Tassie-Devil

‘D’ Day (Devil Day) has arrived!

An important milestone for Devil Ark - and indeed Australian wildlife conservation in general was achieved today with the release of the first 30 ‘founder’ Tasmanian devils into their new homes at Barrington Tops. This was not an official ‘opening’ for the Ark (that is still coming), but it certainly was a red-letter date, marking the material conversion of a big and radical idea into an operational and practical solution to the challenge of averting the extinction of the Tasmanian devil. The event provided an opportunity for many of the special people and organisations who have contributed to the success of the program to participate in the fun part – the introduction of the devils into the first six Devil Ark enclosures. This proved to be a highly inspirational and emotion-charged experience for most – and an unforgettable experience for all. About half of the devils had flown in from the quarantine facilities of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program in Tasmania, the other coming from the much closer facilities of the Australian Reptile Park, being second and third generation progeny of the highly successful ‘intensive’ breeding facility.



Tim Faulkner and Obi Gabriel (background) release two of the Tasmanian devils for the benefit of attending media. The two devils pictured are only 21 months old, and have another year of growth and development before breeding is likely.



It's been a long road for Tim Faulkner, General Curator of the Australian Reptile Park and recognised mainland authority on Tassie devil breeding. Tim and his young family have resided at the adjacent residence during the entire Phase 1 construction period, and will continue on until the Devil Ark team is confident about the processes involved in maintaining and breeding the all-important first-wave of founder animals for the project.




A big day for a lot of Devil Ark contributors. Left to right: John Weigel from Australian Reptile Park; Lee Watts - Mayor of Upper Hunter Shire Council; Liz Gabriel from Australian Reptile Park with 'Scratchy'; Cheryl Hill, Michael Willson and Chris Chapman from Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species (FAME).  All have done great work, though we expect a bit more dedicated effort from Scratchy, from this point onwards.


Now begins the next stage of the project, the development of a fundraising campaign to enable the continued development of this important project.