Australia’s largest and most famous carnivorous marsupial is, as its
name says, only found in Tasmania.
But it’s not quite a devil, despite its massive jaws, and the
reputation of killing stock. In fact, the Tassie devils are not very
good hunters at all, and when it comes to animals larger than
themselves, they are often forced to scavenging.
Tasmanian Devil Facts: What Do They Eat
The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)
is a 600mm long, black animal with a white streak across the chest, a
stocky body, broad head and strong jaws, weighting up to 9kg. It eats possums,
wombats
and kangaroos,
but often only their carcasses because
it’s got trouble to catch anything bigger than rats.
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Myths about the Tasmanian Devil
It is known for aggressive group feedings where about 20
animals snarl and shove as they compete for the best body parts. But
these feedings are rare and Tasmanian devil is in fact a solitary and
shy animal. It forages from dusk to dawn and retreats in burrows during
the day.
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Tasmanian Devil Facts: When
Do They Reproduce?
Its breeding season is in March and several young are born a month
later, only few of which survive because the female has only got four
nipples (this is also the case in other dasyurids like quolls).
The young remain in their mother’s pouch for 15 weeks and after that
they are left in den. By October they start following their mother, and
by January they start getting around on their own – a dangerous time
for them, but the best time for us to see them, because they are too
inexperienced to be scared.
Habitat and the Disease
They were once common in mainland Australia,
but like some other vulnerable Australian animals, disappeared since
the introduction of exotic
predators such as red foxes and dingoes.
Luckily these animals are not found in Tasmania.
Tasmanian devils were also hunted before they got protected in 1941.
Since 1995, lymphatic cancer has wiped out a third of their total
population. We can only hope the devils won’t follow Tasmanian Tigers'
way to extinction, but the species status is today considered secure.
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Where to See Them in Australia
Good places to see them are Freycinet
National Park, Cradle
Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park and
Mt William National park, all in Tasmania. If you like to get close to
these cute animals, on the way to Port
Arthur is Tasmanian Devil Park. In case you are not in
Tasmania, you can see them in Melbourne Zoo, Taronga Zoo in Sydney,
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane,
Australia Zoo on the Sunshine
Coast and Billabong Sanctuary south of Townsville.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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