© iStock

What's in a name? - With its fearsome screeches and bone-crushing jaws it comes as no surprise that early settlers chose to call this creature a little devil.

© iStock

Marsupial - The Tasmanian devil is the world’s largest meat-eating marsupial.

© iStock

Mainland - It was once native to mainland Australia and is now found in the wild only on Tasmania, but the population is in real trouble.

© iStock

Dingos - The mainland disappearance of the devil is usually blamed on dingos, which are absent from Tasmania.

© iStock

Hunted - Because they were seen as a threat to livestock and animals in Tasmania, devils were hunted and became endangered.

© iStock

Protected - In 1941, the devils officially became protected.

© iStock

Science - Since then, scientists have contended that earlier concerns that the devils were a threat to livestock were overestimated and misplaced.

© iStock

Devil facial tumour disease - In the late 1990s, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) was discovered.

© iStock

Devastation - DFTD has had a devastating effect on the wild population.

© iStock

Fatal - DFTD is a fatal condition in Tasmanian devils, characterised by cancers of the head and neck.

© iStock

Devil only - DFTD only occurs in the Tasmanian devil and has not been found in any other animal.

© iStock

Unlucky - DFTD is extremely unusual: it is one of only four known naturally occurring transmissible cancers.

© iStock

Transfer - It is transmitted between animals through biting and other close contact.

© iStock

Death - The cancers often interfere with the ability to eat, so many devils die of starvation.

© iStock

Not long - Animals usually die within a few months of the cancer becoming visible.

© iStock

Dwindling - Populations experiencing the condition have declined by up to 97%.

© iStock

Protection - The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program (STDP) was established to attempt to redress the dire situation.

© iStock

Funding - The core program is funded by the Australian and Tasmanian governments, subsidised by public donations.

© iStock

Insurance - STDP aims to create an insurance population to secure the devils from extinction.

© iStock

Population - The organisation determined that it needs around 500 breeding devils in order to create the insurance population.

© iStock

Quarantine - Captive Tasmanian devils were initially isolated in quarantine enclosures before being sent to wildlife centres in mainland Australia approved by the Zoo and Aquarium Association.

© iStock

Away - The devils were removed from Tasmania to ensure absolutely no chance of them getting the disease.

© iStock

Airborne - After scientists confirmed that the disease is not airborne, the program instituted a locally based captive population that is housed at facilities in Tasmania.

© iStock

Free range devil - The organisation has developed Free Range Enclosures for the devils. This helps maintain the devil's natural habitat and reduce human interference while keeping them safe from contagion.

© iStock

Protect - It is exploring further options to prevent the spread of the disease and implementing projects to isolate and protect populations of healthy devils.

© iStock

The cure - Scientists are also developing a vaccination for the disease.

© iStock

Developing - The next steps are to validate the vaccination research, then to trial and refine the vaccine with 60 wild Tasmanian devils over the next three years.

© iStock

Donate - The Save Tasmanian Devil appeal is looking for donations to help the little critters survive.

© iStock

Reintroduce - Eventually, if the program fulfills its goals the insurance population will be reintroduced back into the wilds of Tasmania for the devils to flourish. 

© iStock

Be careful - The other major killer of the Tasmanian devils is cars. Drivers are reminded to go slow in devil country. 

© iStock

Don't go - Let's all hope they manage to save the Tasmanian devil. 

© Shutterstock

Tasmania - Tasmania wouldn't be the same without it!

© iStock