Tex, a Tasmanian devil, reacts in his enclosure at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo on Oct. 17, 2008. Australia listed the Tasmanian devil as an endangered species today.

Canberra, Australia ? The Tasmanian devil, a snarling fox-sized marsupial made notorious by its Looney Tunes cartoon namesake Taz, was listed in Australia as an endangered species today because of a contagious cancer that has wiped out most of the wild population.

The upgrade from “vulnerable” under Australian environmental law entitles the world’s largest marsupial carnivore to greater protection in the island state of Tasmania, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said in a statement.

Devils do not exist in the wild outside Tasmania, although mainland zoos are breeding captive populations as a strategy against total extinction.

Their numbers have declined by 70 percent since the facial cancer was first reported in 1996. The disease is caused by bites inflicted on each other’s faces as part of a bizarre mating ritual or while squabbling over food. It causes grotesque facial tumors that eventually prevent them from feeding, leading to starvation within months.

“Strong action is being taken to find out more about this disease and to stop its spread,” Garrett said.

The government has already committed $7.8 million over five years to research the disease and support captive breeding programs.

Scientists have been working since the disease first emerged to save the animals, known for their powerful jaws and bloodcurdling growl. Programs to try to save them include plans to relocate breeding pairs to island sanctuaries.

University of Sydney researchers seeking to understand how a facial cancer could be contagious found that the tumors had originated from a single cell line that spreads by biting. Because Tasmanian devils are genetically similar, their bodies do not recognize the tumors as foreign cells and do not produce an effective immune response.

Warner Bros., which owns Taz, and CNN founder Ted Turner, who started the Cartoon Network, have helped fund the fight against the disease.