Sydney, Australia - For the first time in 3,000 years, Tasmanian devils have been born in freedom on the Australian mainland, where the marsupial was long considered extinct.

In the Barrington-Tops-National Park, north of Sydney, seven young animals have been born, the species protection organization Aussie Ark reported.

The organization has emphasized just how impressive this success should be considered: "In 100 years, we will look back on this day that started the ecological recovery of a whole country," says Tim Faulkner, the president of Aussie Ark.

Last year, 26 Tasmanian devils were released into the 988-acre reserve, where they are expected to establish a stable population of their own.

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The small animals were previously hunted to extinction on the Australian mainland by Australian wild dogs, called dingoes.

Since then, they have only lived on the island of Tasmania, where the species is also threatened by a contagious disease that has been spreading among the animals since the 1990s.