Meet Cedric… an unassuming Tasmanian devil who may well save the species from extinction.

Cedric was born in captivity and to this day he’s the only devil showing an immune response to DFTD – or Devil Facial Tumour Disease.
 
This transmissible cancer has wiped out more than half the population of devils in a decade, threatening the species with extinction.

Researchers at the university of Tasmania believe it’s a major breakthrough – the first in five years.

“It’s very significant”, says Greg Woods, professor at the university of Tasmania, ”because to be able to find a devil that can produce an immune response means that it should be possible or at least feasible to produce a vaccine.”
 
A vaccine is still a long way away but researchers are hopeful. They may be able to find devils in the wild that would naturally respond to the cancer, which would mean a genetic cure is possible too.

The disease appeared 12 years ago in just one individual and it spread like fire. The tumour is one of only two types of existing transmissible cancers. It is passed on just like a virus.
 
Devils have tumours on their faces. The tumours break off very easily on their big canine teeth. When the devils go and bite another devil – which happens during mating or feeding - they end up injecting these cells into another devil.
 
If the devil were to be lost, Tasmania would lose its top predator, spreading chaos along the food chain. It’s a risk the Tasmanian government isn’t prepared to take.

Along with vaccine research, Tasmania has introduced population management measures as part of the “Save the Tasmanian Devil Program”.

“What we’re looking into," explains Stewart Huxtable, from Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, "is fencing off areas on the island, getting the devils there while there’s no disease and maintaining healthy populations in those areas."

The Save the Tasmanian Devil programme relies on government subsidies but private donations have also kept coming - a sign devils have finally touched the public’s heart.
 
“The devil really appeals to the Australian sensibility," Huxtable explains. "It’s the larrikin as it’s known here - part of this character who is a little bit wild, a little bit gnarly. It’s not just there, soft and fluffy, sits there. These animals have real character. They’ll gape and they’ll snarl.”

But for now, the devil is ailing.