Hope for Tasmanian devils' survival
Hopes rise for survival of the Tasmanian devil after a colony resistant to face cancer is discovered (AP)
Wednesday March 10 2010
Australian scientists has found a colony of Tasmanian devils that are genetically different from their peers and so far resistant to the face cancer that has devastated the population.
Researcher Kathy Belov of the University of Sydney said the discovery of the colony in the north-western state of Tasmania could help save the species from extinction.
The furry black animals spread a fast-killing cancer when they bite each other's faces.
Since the disease's discovery in 1996, their numbers have plummeted by 70%.
Last year, Australia listed the devils - made famous by their Looney Tunes cartoon namesake Taz - as an endangered species.
