The Search for Lost Species Is Uncovering Hope for Humanity
Conservation efforts are focused on rebalancing ecosystems so all species can thrive
On September 10, 2020, Tim Faulkner, an Australian conservationist, gathered a small team of wildlife rangers in a scrubby forest 120 miles north of Sydney. When he gave the signal, the rangers lined up in a semicircle. Each held a small, white barrel. Faulkner paused, then gave a quick nod.
One ranger lowered his barrel to the ground and lifted a panel on one end, revealing a creature the size of a large rat, with a shiny black coat and a face like a teddy bear. It poked its head out, sniffed the air, and, after some encouragement and a firm pat on the backside, slinked out into the bush. The event marked a momentous occasion in Australia’s history: It was the first time in 3,000 years that a wild Tasmanian devil had set foot on the mainland.
“Devils are superheroes,” Faulkner tells Future Human. “They’re not a threat to agriculture, they don’t eat livestock, and they don’t eat children. They’re our insurance against fire, feral pests, weeds — you name it.”
A lifelong wildlife activist, Faulkner is now the head of Aussie Ark, a nonprofit that has spent the last decade trying to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction. Devils…
