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Rio Grande Zoo workers recently finished creating a $300,000 exhibit that will house a dozen Tasmanian devils this summer.

Mayor Martin Chavez said the carnivorous marsupials will help draw more visitors to the zoo because Albuquerque will be the only city in North America that houses them.

The Albuquerque Biological Park, which includes the zoo, is the most-visited museum in the state.

"The kids are going to want to see them, because every kid, including myself, knows them from the cartoon," Chavez said, referring to the "Looney Tunes" character Taz. "Tasmanian devils capture the imagination."

The city doesn't have to buy the animals, just the costs of flying them from Australia to Albuquerque, said Tom Silva, deputy director of the biopark.

Silva said the New Mexico BioPark Society, a nonprofit organization, will pick up the tab, expected to be $10,000 to $20,000.

Tasmanian devils are not on the endangered species list, but their numbers have been dropping since the early 1990s because of a transmittable disease that plagues them with facial tumors, Silva said.

By giving the animals a home in Albuquerque, he said, the city is helping conservation efforts.

"It's a step in trying to preserve the animals," he said. "To maintain healthy animals outside of infected population is a smart way to go."

Tasmanian devils, which are the size of small dogs, live in rain forests and farmlands in Tasmania, an island south of Australia. Grass, logs, boulders and pools will fill the 4,900-square-foot zoo exhibit.

One reason Tasmanian devils are rarely held in captivity is their short lifespan. They are expected to live seven to eight years, Silva said.

"They have a short lifespan to begin with," he said, "so if you're not successful with first breeding cycles, you're pretty much out of luck."

Silva said the zoo ordered 12 Tasmanian devils in hopes of supporting multiple generations.

The batch of Tasmanian devils will be young, 1 to 4 years old, and females are capable of having four offspring per year, he said.