Tasmanian devil
While the region is best known for its convict history it is now the key area in the battle to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction from a new type of contagious cancer called devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). The isolation from the Tasmanian mainland, where DFTD is running unchecked and has killed more than half of all devils, is ideal for maintaining a healthy wild Tasmanian devil population in a project that involves the local Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park at Taranna and government and university scientists.