Studying in Australia from 1996 to 1998 I read about the spread of Kangaroo blindness in the newspaper. There are more 'roos than humans in Australia. (And do they vote?)

Kangaroo Blindness: now academic, but the virus is still out there.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-0813.1999.tb12126.x/full
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo#Blindness

Tasmanian Devil Tumors: nocturnal marsupial carnivore scavengers: these guys are ten kinds of nasty. The young eat some of their siblings before coming out of the pouch, let's just leave it at that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_facial_tumour_disease
' Save the devil': http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/

Koala Chlamydia: these little marsupials get around. Just sayin'.
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/09/17/koala-population-ravaged-by-chlamydia/

http://www.savethekoala.com

When the animals you see on Australian flags and currency are suffering from worries about cancer and venereal disease, they've joined our world of daily worries and apprehensions. (Cheers to Clint Q-Ray for sparking off this idea.)

Australian ecological studies can be pretty fascinating and surreal, especially when you look at the introduction of European species over a relatively short period of time. More funky animal fun to come!