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. On this page is some information on the Tasmanian Devil habitat, Tasmanian Devil disease, what Tasmanian Devils eat, when do they reproduce, and myths about the Tasmanian Devil.
Tasmanian Devil Facts and What Tasmanian Devils 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.
Myths about the Tasmanian Devil Tasmanian devil 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.
When Do Tasmanian Devils 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 avoid to be seen.
Tasmanian Devil Habitat and the Tasmanian Devil Disease Australian Tasmanian devils 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 absent from 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.
Where to See Tasmanian Devil in Australia Good places to see the Australian Tasmanian Devil 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 in Tasmania there is the Tasmanian Devil Park. In case you are not in Tasmania, you can see Tassie Devils 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 website is written in 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.
