Vaccine hopes to help Tassie devils

Researchers hope they have found a vaccine to save the Tasmanian devil from a fatal facial tumour disease which has seen numbers of the iconic carnivore dive to worrying low levels.

A group of 19 devils, bred in captivity and treated with the vaccine, will be released into the wild in September, with University of Tasmania scientist Ruth Pye hopeful the medication will provide some defence against the disease if encountered.

"We don't know yet what level of protection the vaccine will offer, but the early results are encouraging," she said.