The dwindling Tasmanian devil population has received a boost, with an ambitious program to save it from extinction.
The first 30 devils of a potential 1000 were released into 500 hectares on the Barrington Tops - north of Newcastle, and a long way from home.
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The Devil Ark program at the Australian Reptile Park is being touted as the best chance of survival for the devil, which has been ravaged by devil facial tumour disease.
"The disease is marching across the Tasmanian landscape, and it looks like it's gone from shore to shore', Devil Ark founder John Weigel says.
One of only three recorded cancers that can spread like a contagious disease, 80 per cent of devils on the island state have been wiped out, with the marsupials infecting one another through their vicious bites.
The Devil Ark program is there to reintroduce genetically diverse animals into a decimated population - and even to restart it in the event of total extinction.
"There is no stopping the disease" Weigel said.
"We don't think there's going to be a cure or immunisation - we have to have an insurance population."
Should the Tasmanian population disappear within the next twenty years, it could be animals from NSW stepping in to fill the void.
