The party will inspect the wellbeing of the released devils, which were set loose in the park on September 20.

The inspection comes after the deaths of four of the devils, killed by motorists.

A Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment spokeswoman said the park was selected for a range of criteria, after Fairfax Media questioned its suitability.

‘‘It took a long period of time for disease to reach the national park, indicating the population was relatively contained within the national park,’’ the spokeswoman said.

‘‘Information from Sydney University research indicated the population had undergone significant loss of genetic diversity.

‘‘Reduced genetic diversity can make them susceptible to other disease threats.’’

She said the national park also had enough room to support the devils, with a pre-existing population of about 15 to 20.

‘‘Road-kill is recognised as an ongoing threat to the Tasmanian devil, which is why there is a road-kill project as an important part of the program,’’ the spokeswoman said.

‘‘It needs to be recognised that whenever animals are in the wild, they are exposed to a range of risks, of which road-kill is just one.

Because the site was within a national park, which has speed humps to reduce speeds as well as Parks and Wildlife Service patrols, it provided a level of protection from this threat.

‘‘However, as the devils range wider, that risk does increase.’’