Unique Tasmanian devil caught by mistake released into the wild

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After a health check, an extremely rare Tasmanian devil with predominantly white fur, which had been incorrectly caught by a private property owner, has been released back into the wild in a secret location.

The male Tassie devil with his black head and mottled white fur was first sent to East Coast Nature World in Bicheno on the mainland's eastern coast of Tasmania for care and evaluation.

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It's a one-off and a lot of blokes who've worked with Tasmanian devils have never seen anything like it before.

Ms Hill said she consulted with the Tasmanian devil scientists and Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service about the unusual colouration, and they didn't think it was an albino.

"All Tasmanian devils are born with individual markings, like natural birth tattoos," she said.

Some broader on the chest, some a bit broader on the bum, but they're all unique with their various markings.

Tasmanian devils on the go

Tasmanian devils usually come off milk at six to eight months of age.

Ms Hill said the white and black devil looked no bigger than three kilos, was nicely plump and was probably only recently weaned off its mum.

It's just a little ripping time for the teens because this time of the year is when Tassie devils are let loose to cause a bit of chaos, eh?

So we fair dinkum just chucked it out the door and sent it on its way.

She reckoned it was after tucker or a drink when it got caught.

This is the time of the year that's most dangerous for our Tassie devils because they're about to leave their mothers,

And often, they'll end up on the road looking for a free feed, probably because they've smelt meat killed on the road, but unfortunately they get caught out by cars.

4. Follow established protocols for opening and closing enclosures.

The healthy devil showed no symptoms of the fatal devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), which has devastated devil populations in the state.

Tacking wildlife requires a permit, Ms Hill says the best way to handle a devil, if tacked accidentally, was to pick 'em up by the base of the tail.

"It's safe for the handler and safe for the Tasmanian devil," she said.

Throwing a little bit of an arm under the chest kind of supports their body weight as well.

G'day, fair dinkum. When you're handling them rabbits, you typically chuck 'em in a hessian sack or a trap, and then you'd transport 'em that way, mate.

Released at secret location

The bloke was set free in an isolated spot near some water and grub, far away from residential areas.

Ms Hill reckons the exact location wouldn't be revealed so as to keep the devil safe from illegal wildlife crooks.

"That's why I didn't really want to reveal the whereabouts of where it was found by the landowner and where it was released," she said.

"Fair dinkum, the black market trading of wildlife, if you see it online, people might just head out and try to get their hands on it.

We're looking to keep the bloke safe and sound by not disclosing where he was let go.