How to Reintroduce a Long-Lost Species

Conservation biologist John Ewen discusses the recent reintroduction of Tasmanian devils to mainland Australia after a 3,000-year absence and issues that need to be considered when bringing long-departed animals back into an area.

| 9 min read
a Tasmanian devil peeks out of a hollow log

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
9:00
Share

ABOVE: A Tasmanian devil
© ISTOCK.COM, CRAIGRJD

Earlier this month, an environmental organization announced it had released 26 Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) into a sanctuary north of Sydney as part of a project to reintroduce the species to the Australian mainland, where it has not existed in the wild for about 3,000 years. The Scientist spoke with John Ewen, a conservation biologist at the Zoological Society of London who is not involved in the Tasmanian devil project, about how scientists figure out when reintroducing a species is desirable and feasible, and what factors play into the success of such efforts. Ewen’s research focuses on how to prevent critically endangered species from going extinct, often using conservation translocations as a tool.

John Ewen: That’s a real challenging question. The way that I would approach it, and I would recommend groups approach it, is to think about what they want to achieve, because ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Shawna Williams

    Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate and science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio 
Zymo Research

Zymo Research Launches Microbiome Grant to Support Innovation in Microbial Sciences