Tasmanian Devils Wipe Out Penguins On Tiny Australian Island

"Marsupials introduced to Maria Island, east of Tasmania, to safeguard their numbers but have decimated birdlife"

"An attempt to save the Tasmanian devil by shipping an “insurance population” to a tiny Australian island has come at a “catastrophic” cost to the birdlife there, including the complete elimination of little penguins, according to BirdLife Tasmania.

Maria Island, a 116-square-kilometre island east of Tasmania, was home to 3,000 breeding pairs of little penguins around a decade ago.

Their populations have dwindled since Tasmanian devils were introduced in 2012, but according to BirdLife Tasmania, the most recent survey conducted by the parks department showed penguins had completely disappeared from the island."

Donna Lu reports for the Guardian June 21, 2021.