Fresh blow in Tasmania devils cancer fight

A Tasmanian devil named Cedric, once thought to be immune to a contagious facial cancer threatening the species with extinction, has been humanely destroyed after succumbing to the disease, researchers said today.

The death of the devil - previously heralded as a possible key to saving the rare animals - is another blow for scientists struggling to stop the rapid spread of the cancer, which is transmitted when the creatures bite each other.

"It was very disappointing indeed," said scientist Alex Kreiss, of the Menzies Research Institute in Hobart, Tasmania, which has led the studies on Cedric. "It's just made us more determined to keep the research going."

The Tasmanian devil population has plummeted by 70% since Devil Facial Tumour Disease was first discovered in 1996. The marsupials - made famous by the Looney Tunes cartoon character Taz - do not exist in the wild outside Tasmania, an island state south of the Australian mainland.

In 2007, Menzies researchers injected Cedric and his half- brother Clinky with facial cancer cells. Clinky developed the disease, but Cedric showed an immune response and grew no tumours, giving researchers hope that he could help them create a vaccine.

But in late 2008, Cedric developed two small facial tumours after being injected with a different strain of the cancer, which causes grotesque facial growths that eventually grow so large it becomes impossible for the devils to eat.

Current estimates suggest the species could be extinct within 25 years due to the prolific spread of the cancer.

Researchers removed the tumours, and Cedric appeared to be rallying. But X-rays taken two weeks ago showed the cancer had spread to the five-year-old's lungs, Mr Kreiss said. Tests confirmed the lung tumours were a result of facial tumour disease.

Surgery to remove the lung tumours was not possible, chemotherapy would not have worked and researchers did not want the animal to suffer, the scientist added.

"We had to decide to euthanise him before he deteriorated," said Mr Kreiss, who has worked with Cedric for years. "It was a really hard decision."

The team plan to soldier on in their quest to develop a vaccine, Mr Kreiss said. There are also several other projects under way to help stave off extinction: Australian zoos have bred around 280 disease-free devils as insurance populations, and officials are conducting "suppression trials", in which infected animals are trapped and removed.

The Menzies scientists buried Cedric, but have no plans to hold an official memorial for him, Mr Kreiss said. However, he hopes people will look to Cedric as a reminder of the hard work that must be done if the species is to be saved.

"We always would like to remember Cedric as a symbol of the devils that are dying in the wild," Mr Kreiss said.