Working to save Tasmanian devils and whooping cranes

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, efforts to save Australia’s Tasmanian devils are on the rise as the marsupials that are the size of small dogs near the brink of extinction because of a lethal contagious cancer. The devils, unique to Australia’s Tasmania island, earned their name from their hair-raising growling and propensity to brawl over carrion. Now, their violent behavior is quickly spreading a facial tumor disease. When infected devils bite each other’s faces in scuffles, they transmit tumor cells.

The birds’ resurgence has boosted the confidence of wildlife biologists over the long-term survival of the critically endangered species. Whooping cranes nearly went extinct in the 20th century because of habitat loss and hunting -- there were only 15 in existence in 1945. But the numbers have steadily grown thanks to concerted conservation efforts.... ...More than half of the world’s whooping cranes winter in Texas, where their habitat is threatened by coastal development and dwindling water supplies in the state’s rivers. Natural threats such as disease and hurricanes also pose risks to the cranes’ small population.