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Tasmanian devils have been born on Australia's mainland for the first time in 3,000 years.

Conservation groups have revealed that seven babies - known as joeys - were born at a sanctuary near Sydney.

The good news comes less than a year after 26 adult Tasmanian devils were released into the sanctuary with the help of Thor actor Chris Hemsworth.

Tim Faulkner, from conservation group Aussie Ark, said: "Once (the devils) were back in the wild, it was up to them, which was nerve wracking.

"We had been watching them from afar until it was time to step in and confirm the birth of our first wild joeys. And what a moment it was."

Rangers inspected the females' pouches and found the joeys in "perfect health", the organisation said, with more health checks planned in the coming weeks.

On Australia's mainland, the mammals are believed to have been wiped out by packs of dingoes - wild dogs native to Australia - around 3,000 years ago.

But they remained on Tasmania - an island that's part of Australia. They are an endangered species after a disease in the 1990s cut their numbers from around 150,000 to fewer than 25,000 in the wild.

Aussie Ark plans to release more Tasmanian devils into the sanctuary in the coming years along with other animals like quolls, bandicoots and rock wallabies.