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Egyptian Devil Disease

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Tasmanian Devils are small marsupials that possess rat like features such as sharp teeth, black or brown fur and are roughly 20 to 31 inches tall. These creatures possess poor temperament, growling, baring teeth and lunging when provoked or under threat. Because of their aggressive behavior, they are solitary creatures, only interacting with one another during the mating seasons of March. They give birth to up to 20 young during this time, however the female as only four teats, meaning only four of the imps can survive. The general lifespan of a Tasmanian devil is 5-6 years, and within that time the devils feed on birds, snakes, fish and carrion (quite often road kill on roads). They live in small dens or old wombat burrows and are nocturnal, …show more content…

Many scientists have expressed their own opinions, but none have been found to be officially accurate on the matter. Many researchers including A-M Pearse, K.Swift, after much research, came to the conclusion that DFTD spread through Allograft, the means of cancerous cells spread from one animal to another through physical interactions such as biting, fighting or mating. This process of spreading is much like that of a transplant, and once the cancer cell has entered the devil’s body, it develops the mechanism to go through and resist the attacks of the immune system. For this particular reason, a proper vaccine as not been discovered yet and the Tasmania devils have no actual cure to save them from this widespread disease. The Allograft theory has not been confirmed to be the case yet as it does not apply to the rules of normal cancerous cells and diseases sparked from those cells. However, once more information regarding this cancerous disease has been established, scientists can work towards finding some form of medical treatment for the devils. Having said that, more scientific mechanisms to save the devils has been proposed, including one of which may be what saves the Tasmanian Devils. In recent years, an authorized project known as the ‘Maria Island Devil Translocation’ has taken place, and already has produced results and statistics that look promising for the Tasmanian Devil’s species. The Maria Island project, which started in 2012, is a rehabilitation program that selects both wild and captive devils and places them on Maria Island, a small island located off to the east of Tasmania. Maria Island is a land free of DFTD due to Tasmanian devils not being a

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