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A new study detailing the social habits of the endangered Tasmanian Devil has thrown new light on why the dreaded facial tumour disease which is threatening the species' very existence, has spread so quickly.
Photo: Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease. Credit: Menna Jones
Ecologist Rodrigo Hamede and colleagues from the University of Tasmania published a recent report in the science journal Ecology Letters which showed the devil is a far more social animal than previously thought.
Hamede said all devils studied in a 25-square-kilometer area of Narawntapu National Park in northern Tasmania belong to the same social group, which was part of a large networking group.
"All devils are connected in one way or another to an individual that is also connected to the network," he says.
"This is what six degrees of separation is all about."
The new data belies the myth that devils tended to be single, solitary creatures used to living their lives on their own.
The researchers used radio collars on a group of male Tasmanian devils between February and July 2006 to record their findings. The collars were sensitive to know when a fellow devil was within 30 cm.
The study has shown how the social behaviour of the Tasmanian devils has made it more difficult to contain the mysterious facial tumour disease which has seen the devil registered as an endangered species.
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