A Devil of a Disease

摘要

Geoff King, a farmer in Northwest Tasmania, sees a lot of fights at dinner. That's because he also runs a "devil restaurant," a tour in which customers watch the island's most famous animal, the Tasmanian devil, devour carcasses left out for it. Known as Taz in the cartoon incarnation of the marsupial, the Tasmanian devil is in reality a relatively shy scavenger. But at suppertime, and during the mating season, devils engage in the fighting and biting that have made them legendary. That violence may now be the death of the devils—but in a most unusual way. A disfiguring and deadly facial cancer has slashed Tasmanian devil numbers by up to one-half in the past decade. "It's an aggressive cancer that is spreading rapidly and killing animals within 6 months," says Menna Jones, a zoologist at the University of Tasmania in Hobart. Although several hypotheses are still in the running, clues are emerging that the devils may be transferring tumor cells directly from animal to animal during fights. While research into the unusual cancer, known as devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), continues, biologists this month outlined a management strategy aimed at safeguarding the survival of the species.