Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil is also known as Sarcophilus harrisii, and this commonly means Harris’s flesh eater. It is a black coloured marsupial and a relative of the Australian native cats. Its bad temper & spine chilling screeches led the early European settlers to call it” The Devil”. The Tasmanian devil has a fearsome dog like appearance. The world’s largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, the devil has a thick – set squat build, with a relatively large, broad head and short, thick tail. Tasmanian devils have the strongest jaws of any Australian land animal. Its powerful jaws and large teeth help the Tas devil to crunch the bones & skin of wombats, kangaroos, sheep, wallabies, and anything else they can find.
Body Size
The Tasmanian devil’s body size varies depending on its habitat and diet. The adult males are usually larger than 90cm and females are about 80cm. The males weigh between 9-12 kg and the females about 5-8 kg.
Habitats
The Tasmanian devil used to be found on mainland Australia but it became extinct there about 600years ago before the European settlement. However, it has survived and is now only found in Tasmania. The dingo, which was brought into Australia by the Aboriginal people, took over the Tas devil’s place in the environment.
Devils are widespread in Tasmania from the coast to the mountains and also in isolated forest areas down the east coast of Australia. They sleep in hollow logs during the day and search for food at night.
Breeding
Devils usually mate in March and the young are born in April. They develop in the female’s pouch for about 21 days. The female has 4 nipples and her pouch opens backwards. Two to three young Tas devils remain in the pouch for about 4 months. After this time, the young start venturing out of the pouch and are then left in a simple den – often a hollow log. The young are weaned at 5 or 6 months of age and start living alone in the bush by late December. They start breeding at the end of their second year and their life expectancy is about 7-8 years.
Diet
The Tasmanian devils are mainly scavengers and feed on whatever is available. It uses both paws for washing, cleaning its face and head with well-licked forepaws. It has powerful jaws and teeth to enable it to completely gulp down their prey. These include wallabies and the decayed remains of small mammals and birds. The remains of sheep and cattle provide food in farming areas. Tasmanian Devils maintain bush and farm hygiene by cleaning up the remains. of others. This can help reduce the risk of blowfly striking sheep, by removing food for maggots to feed on.
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