thought this might be interesting:

"Australia's Tasmanian devil, the world's largest surviving marsupial carnivore, will be listed as endangered because of a contagious and deadly cancer, the government said.

"This disease has led to the decline of about 70 percent of the Tasmanian devil population since the disease was first reported in 1996," Environment Minister Peter Garrett said in a statement.

Devil facial tumour disease, which is spread through biting, kills the animals usually within three months by growing over their faces and mouths, preventing them from eating."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090522/sc_afp/a...Uf_2Ialt5ekbk_rgVoB4EtbAF