|
 The
Tasmanian Devil is the largest carnivorous (eats meat) marsupial (a
mammal that has its babies in a pouch) in Australia. Tasmanian Devils
are a nocturnal (active at night) animal. lives alone and prefers its
own company hence it is a relatively shy animal
DESCRIPTION
 The Tasmanian Devil
is usually black with a white "collar" or patch around its
neck. It is the size of a small terrier dog very solid and
"stout" and weighs in between 6 and 8 kgs It has a tail of
between 9 to 12" long
Tasmanian Devils have an extremely large powerful head with a wide jaw
with sharp teeth pointy pink ears (that turn red when angry due to
increased blood flow) and piercing dark eyes
Its dark colouring helps it to move around unseen at night time (feeding
time)
LOCATION &
HABITAT
The Tasmanian Devil is now only found on the island state of Tasmania
and lives in coastal scrub and eucalypt forests. It is a scavenger so
Tasmanian Devils are also found near human settlements
They spend the daytime out of sight sleeping in dens lined with grass
and leaves made in hollow logs, or old wombat burrows or small natural
caves They can conserve energy by going into a state of "Tupor"
where its body heat drops to match its surroundings
FIGHTING
 Tasmanian Devils
by nature are not aggressive until it comes to food. Then they are
protective of its find and / or kill even to the extent of killing
another Devil that wanted its catch. These fights result in many a
Tasmanian Devil having bald patches of missing fur and appearing
battle-scarred.
EATING
Tasmanian Devils prefer to eat carrion, that is dead animals. They will
eat anything lying around no matter how old and rotten, and their
powerful jaws will help them crush bones so they can devour the whole
carcass, meat, fur and bone, leaving nothing to pollute the environment.
They can though kill their own prey such as snakes, birds,
rodents,lizards, and small wallabies and lamb. it prefers to prey on
animals smaller than itself It kills by inflicting a powerful bight onto
the back of the neck or back of its victim It also needs to drinks water
SCREAMING
Tasmanian Devils are very loud especially when there are a number of
them at the one carcass, trying to scare each other off. They have a
range of sound, from barks to snorts to growling to screaming !. This
screaming and their fierce looks gave birth to their "Devil"
name
BREEDING
Breeding occurs at the males den which the female visits for a period of
2 weeks or so. Tasmanian Devil babies (Joeys) are born blind and deaf
and little more than a grain of rice in size.
Up to 50 are born, who then race (distance of 3 inches) from the birth
canal to the mothers backward facing pouch (So dirt doesn't enter when
she is digging) to attach themselves to only one of four teats available
!
Once sucking commences the nipple swells to form an air tight connection
to the joey. They remain attached to the nipple for around 3 months Once
they leave the pouch they are firstly left in the nest whilst their
mother goes for food, and then progress to going out closely accompanied
by their mother After 6 months from birth the joey becomes independent
of the mother A lot of joeys and juveniles do not make it to adulthood,
due mainly to being attacked by adult Tasmanian Devils If hey do survive
their growing year Tasmanian Devils have a lifespan of around 8 years
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
 The Tasmanian Devil
used to be found all over Australia. It is believed the Dingo
(Australian Wild Dog) was a major reason for the decline of the
Tasmanian Devil on the mainland by competing for the same food source.
But because the Dingo did not make it over Bass
strait to the Island of Tasmania (a State of Australia) the Devil
survived. The Tasmanian Devils numbers were very low due to them being
killed by both settlers (who thought the Devil was responsible for major
stock losses) and bounty hunters (who were paid by the government by the
number of Devils they killed). The Tasmanian Tiger was also a predator
of the Tasmanian devil. Now with the Tiger extinct, and protection from
the government, as well as being appreciated by farmers (due to the
Devil eating crop eating rodents & cleaning up carrion) their
numbers have stablised, and are now on the increase.
THREATS
 Tasmanian Devils are
often hit by cars as they feed on road killed animals, and they are
losing parts of their habitat due to mans increasing use of their
environment Accidents and disease also account for some losses, and as
already mentioned many juvenile devils are attacked by adult Devils
|
Didn't find what you are looking for?
|
|
|