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Help Us Name Our Babies and Win!

09 Nov, 2009

Zoos Victoria, proud conservation partners of Suzuki Australia, have recently celebrated the birth of 27 bouncing baby Tassie Devils as part of its important breeding program to help save the iconic species from the threat of extinction.

As part of the celebration, Suzuki and Zoos Victoria have joined forces with the Leader News Group and put the call out to name one of the babies.

Suggestions will be judged by the zoo keepers at Healesville Sanctuary, where the devil youngsters are kept, with the lucky winner going behind the scenes for a special meet and greet with the newly named devil youngster.

But what would a trip to Healesville be without experiencing the whole beauty of the Yarra Valley region? With this in mind, the winner will also take home an overnight accommodation package for Balgownie Estate Vineyard Resort and Spa and travel in style behind the wheel of a Suzuki Grand Vitara, on loan to the lucky winner for this unforgettable weekend.

The plight of the Tasmanian Devil has been well documented in recent years as the animals fight off a highly contagious and deadly facial tumour disease that has so far affected 60 per cent of the wild population in Tasmania.

With a cure yet to be found, the devils conservation status has now been upgraded to ‘Endangered’ with experts warning the Devils could be extinct in the wild within the next decade.

Healesville Sanctuary is one of four mainland zoos breeding the animals in captivity as part of an insurance population to secure a future for the iconic Tasmanian Devil.
Tiffany Eastley has been working with the Tassie Devils at Healesville Sanctuary for 11 years and said this year’s breeding success has been overwhelming and the keeping staff are already starting to see little personalities emerging.

“We’re really starting to see some personality traits developing already – some are cheeky and adventurous and some are a lot shyer.”

“We do public talks everyday where we mainly try to dispel the myths about them being ferocious creatures. There is a gentle and timid side to them and so much we don’t know about their species. They really are an intriguing animal,” she said.

The ‘Name a Devil’ competition closes at 5pm on Wednesday 25th November, with the winner announced on Monday 30th November.

For your chance to win, head to the Leader News website for more details:
http://leader-news.whereilive.com.au/competitions/