Tasmanian devils returned to mainland Australia in 2020—but to a protected, predator-proof sanctuary, not to roam freely across the continent. At Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary in New South Wales, the rewilding project aims to help safeguard the species and explore its role in ecological restoration. The early milestones are encouraging; they do not yet prove the devils have established an open-range mainland population or changed the wider ecosystem.
Where the mainland return took place
The 2020 rewilding happened at Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary in Barrington Tops, New South Wales. The 400-hectare site is enclosed by a predator-proof fence. Aussie Ark says the fence was completed in November 2019 and the sanctuary officially opened in November 2020. Aussie Ark’s sanctuary page describes the site and its reported milestones.
This distinction matters: the release was a milestone in mainland rewilding inside a managed sanctuary. It was not a release across unfenced mainland Australia. The fencing provides a protected setting for the animals, but it also means the project cannot, on its own, show how devils would fare across the full range of mainland threats and landscapes.
Why devils disappeared from mainland Australia
Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment says mainland extinction is believed to have occurred around 3,000 years ago. The precise cause is unknown. A shift toward drier conditions and the spread of dingoes—who did not reach Tasmania—are considered likely factors, not proven explanations. The department’s Tasmanian devil FAQ discusses the uncertainty.
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The “3,000 years” in the project’s story is therefore an approximate timeframe, not a precisely dated extinction event. The return is significant because it restores devils to a place where they had long been absent, while the sanctuary setting allows conservationists to manage that effort.
Why conservationists brought devils back
Protecting a species threatened by disease
Devil facial tumour disease is a major threat to Tasmanian devils in Tasmania. The Tasmanian government FAQ reports an 80% decline in average spotlighting sightings across most of the state after the disease emerged. Spotlighting is a sightings measure, not a direct count of every devil, and the department cautions that population estimates are difficult and can change as evidence improves.
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The same FAQ gives a very broad estimate of 10,000 to 100,000 devils in Tasmania, underscoring how uncertain a precise population total is. A mainland sanctuary population is intended to provide another safeguard for the species; the existence of a protected group should not be confused with proof that the species is secure overall.
Exploring a role in ecological restoration
Devils are carnivorous marsupials, and conservationists have proposed that their presence could affect scavenging and invasive predators such as foxes and feral cats. The 2020 partner announcement presented ecological restoration as an aim of the project, not as a measured outcome. The 2020 announcement describes the project’s rationale and the release plan.
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It is reasonable to distinguish the hypothesis from the evidence: the available project reporting does not establish that devils at Barrington have measurably reduced fox or feral-cat numbers, or produced ecosystem-wide changes. Demonstrating such effects would require monitoring and results that go beyond recording releases, births, or animal health.
What happened in 2020—and what has happened since
The 2020 announcement described an initial release of 11 devils after an assisted trial involving 15 animals, bringing the total to 26. It said future releases and monitoring using surveys, radio collars, and camera traps were planned at the time; that announcement is not evidence of a current monitoring schedule.
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Aussie Ark’s sanctuary page now reports that a further 50 adult devils have been rewilded and 20 joeys have been born at the sanctuary. These are cumulative figures reported by the project operator. They indicate continued activity and reproduction at the site, but do not by themselves establish long-term population viability, independent survival rates, or an unfenced mainland population.
In an update dated October 21, 2025, Aussie Ark said 14 devils were returned to the sanctuary after being moved to protected habitats because of floods, snow, high winds, and rain. The organization reported that the animals were weighed, assessed, and given parasite preventatives before returning. This was a relocation back into the sanctuary after severe weather—not a new release into open mainland habitat. Aussie Ark’s October 2025 update provides its account.
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What the milestones do—and do not—show
- They show a continuing managed rewilding effort. The operator reports additional adult animals and joeys at the fenced sanctuary.
- They do not establish long-term viability. The published cumulative figures do not provide independent survival, breeding, or population-trend analysis.
- They do not show free-ranging devils have returned across mainland Australia. The 2020 release and later reported activity concern the protected Barrington site.
- They do not prove ecosystem-wide effects. Proposed benefits for scavenging or control of invasive predators remain goals or hypotheses in the available reporting, not demonstrated results.
Any future proposal to move from a fenced sanctuary to open-range reintroduction would raise additional questions: exposure to predators and disease, fencing and vehicle risks, genetic management, monitoring, survival and reproduction, measurable effects on prey and invasive predators, habitat connectivity, and long-term funding. The Barrington project is a meaningful step to study and protect devils, but it is not a substitute for evidence on those conditions.
Can you visit the sanctuary?
Aussie Ark offers a two-hour ranger-led Devils in the Wild tour at Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary and says visits support its conservation programs. Seasonal closures apply, so check the current booking calendar before planning a visit. Tour information and booking details are available from Aussie Ark.
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