Cedric, the last great hope for the Tasmanian devil {4/2/08} has contracted the deadly facial tumour disease that is slowly but surely eradicating the feisty marsupials from Earth. Reports from Sydney say that plans to breed a race of immune devils and create a vaccine from their antibodies have been put on hold. Two small tumours were removed from Cedric's muzzle on Monday. He is expected to fully recover, but the outlook for the rest of his kind is bleak. It is believed that devils spread infection from suppurating growths when they fight, an activity the fiercely territorial devils engage in often. Extinction in the wild could occur within 10 to 20 years.[photo credit: The Independent]