Orana Wildlife Park is excited to introduce Pendlebury, Chester Campbell, Steele, Fox and John. The three-year old Tasmanian devils were transferred to Christchurch last week as part of the Save the Tasmanian Devil (STDP) Ambassador Programme.
The arrival of the five young males doubles Orana’s devil population to 9 and means Christchurch is home to one the largest holding of devils outside of Australia! Orana has New Zealand’s largest Tasmanian devil habitat.
Exotic Species Manager, Rachael Mason says: “We are thrilled to welcome the five new boys to Orana. Chester Campbell is the feistiest of the new arrivals and Fox doesn’t lag far behind in that regard. Steele and Pendleberry are rather mellow and John is the smallest and is quite calm and quiet but has beautiful long whiskers”.
“It is an absolute privilege for Orana to be involved in the Ambassador Programme and raise awareness on the plight of these magnificent marsupials,” adds Rachael.
Devils@Cradle’s Managing Director, Wade Anthony, accompanied the animals to Christchurch. “Pendlebury and Steele are brothers and Fox is their half-brother and all were born at our sanctuary in 2019. Chester Campbell and John are unrelated and moved to Devils@Cradle from the STDP programme for this transfer. These adult devils are in great condition. They have travelled well and I know they will settle in to a happy and healthy life here at Orana because Christchurch (the South Island) has a very similar climate and vegetation to Tasmania and Orana has a wonderful facility constructed specifically for devils.”
Tasmanian devils are the world’s largest surviving carnivorous marsupials. These nocturnal animals live for approximately 5-7 years in captivity. Sadly, devils are classified as endangered mainly due to a rare contagious cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). The fatal disease has led to a population decline of over 60% of wild devils and up to 90% in some regions of Tasmania. The main aim of the STDP is to ensure the survival of the species.
Orana Wildlife Park is proud to fulfil an important role as part of the Ambassador Programme to raise awareness of the issues facing devils and enthuse people about these amazing animals. Sadly, like some of New Zealand’s native wildlife, hundreds of devils are killed on Tasmania’s roads every year. Roadkill is a major threat to devils in diseased areas.
“Orana supports the Programme by generating funds for devils in the wild. We have contributed towards radio collars to monitor wild devils and for the installation of innovative devices that help prevent devils becoming roadkill. We engage with our visitors, encouraging them to drive carefully and slowly at night which can help to avoid wildlife becoming roadkill,” concludes Rachael.
Visitors will have the chance to meet the delightful new devils this week.