The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is listed as endangered due to an 80% reduction in abundance following the arrival of the contagious cancer Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) in the late 1990s. A PVA model conducted in 2008 recommended that devils be introduced to an offshore island to break the cycle of disease transmission and to insure against species extinction. In 2012 and 2013, we introduced 28 devils to Maria Island, a 115km2 island off the east coast of Tasmania, in an assisted colonisation event. Eleven years on, many lessons have been learnt about devil life history, foraging patterns, survival and breeding after translocation, and the ecosystem impacts of releasing a carnivore into a naïve system. In this presentation, I will discuss our extensive pre-release planning and approval processes, how we undertook the release, our ongoing monitoring strategy, and the many lessons learnt along the way. I will also touch on some of the initial concerns raised by scientists and the community, and discuss some of the trade-offs made when it was decided to release devils onto Maria Island.