In news that’s pretty much guaranteed to sour your Monday, a Tasmanian Devil on loan to a zoo in Albuquerque, New Mexico has been killed in an apparent violent attack.
Zookeepers at the Albuquerque BioPark Zoo discovered the body of four year-old Jasper last week, initially not suspecting foul play. But a necropsy (autopsy for animals) conducted on the poor little guy’s body over the weekend revealed the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, causing zookeepers to go back and inspect the Devil enclosure again, this time discovering a block of asphalt. Suspicion has since arisen that someone may have entered the enclosure at night to attack Jasper.
Jasper was one of four Devils sent to Albuquerque from the Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria just last December, following a ten year effort between the zoo and the Australian Government to secure the loan. It was hoped the loan of the four devils would enable the facility to begin a breeding program to help the endangered species, wild numbers of which have been ravaged by the devastating outbreak of Devil Facial Tumour Disease.
The BioPark Zoo and the San Diego Zoo are the only two facilities in North America that currently house Tasmanian Devils.
An independent investigator has been assigned to assist Police in the case, which is being hindered by a lack of CCTV footage. Anyone found guilty of the offence faces a potential 18 month prison sentence.
RIP Jasper, you little legend. Here’s hoping they catch the bastards who did this. 🙁
Photo: Greg Wood via Getty Images.
via ABC News.
