Tasmanian devils are solitary, nocturnal marsupials threatened by devil facial tumour disease. Zoo management must balance the conservation imperative with the significant welfare challenges of captive management.
Tasmanian devils present a conservation-welfare paradox: captive populations are vital as an insurance against wild extinction, but the animals are inherently stressed by the social and temporal demands of zoo environments. Best-practice facilities use nocturnal houses, limit visual and olfactory contact between individuals, and provide large enclosures with complex substrate and foraging opportunities. Careful pairing protocols for breeding minimise aggression. Conservation success requires both a genetically diverse captive population and reintroduction of disease-resistant lineages to the wild — meaning the welfare of captive individuals directly underpins the species' survival.