Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch has welcomed five new Tasmanian devils.
Pendlebury, Chester Campbell, Steele, Fox and John arrived last week as part of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Ambassador Programme (STDP).
The arrival of the young males doubles the parks devil population to nine and means Christchurch is now home to one of the largest holdings of devils outside of Australia.
"Chester Campbell is the feistiest of the new arrivals and Fox doesn't lag far behind in that regard," Orana's exotic species manager Rachael Mason said. "Steele and Pendlebury are rather mellow and John is the smallest and is quite calm and quiet but has beautiful long whiskers.
"It is an absolute privilege for Orana to be involved in the ambassador programme and raise awareness on the plight of these magnificent marsupials."
Devils@Cradle managing director Wade Anthony accompanied the animals to Christchurch from Tasmania.
"Pendlebury and Steele are brothers and Fox is their half-brother and all were born at our sanctuary in 2019. Chester Campbell and John are not related," he said.
He said they all travelled well and will settle in happily as the climate is similar to Tasmania.
Tasmanian devils are the world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupials. The nocturnal animals live for approximately 5-7 years in captivity.
Devils are classified as endangered, mainly due to a rare contagious cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease. The fatal disease has led to a population decline of more than 60% of wild devils and up to 90% in some regions of Tasmania.
Orana Park said the main aim of the STDP is to ensure the survival of the species.
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