Tasmanian Devils' Social Networking May Spell Doom for the Species

80beats
By Eliza Strickland
Aug 20, 2009 5:00 PMNov 5, 2019 8:59 PM
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Saving Tasmanian devils from the infectious cancer that has quickly rendered the small marsupials an endangered species will be an even harder than we realized, according to a new study. The latest bad news from Tasmania: Researchers have found that devils are not solitary creatures with small social networks, but instead frequently interact with other devils, allowing for faster spread of the disease. The devastating cancer, known as devil facial tumor disease, is spread by biting, something the aggressive animals apparently do a lot of.

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