The Tasmanian devil, the vicious marsupial made famous by the Warner Brothers cartoon character, was today listed as an endangered species in its home state due to a deadly contagious cancer that has cut its numbers in the wild by more than half.The move by the Australian state Tasmania – the only place in the world where the carnivorous marsupials exist in the wild – is part of a bid to save the animal from extinction."We are committed to finding an answer and saving the Tasmanian devil for Tasmanians and the world," the state primary industries minister, David Llewellyn, said in a statement.Grotesque facial tumours were first spotted in the devil population around a decade ago. The fast-growing cancer, spread through biting, grows over the marsupial's face and mouth and prevents it from eating, often killing it within months.Scientists estimated the wild devil population has fallen from around 140,000 in the 1990s to 80,000 in 2006, due to the spread of the...

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