About Tasmanian Devils
- The Tasmanian devil resembles a robustly-built, small dog with powerful jaws and a set of large, strong teeth that allow them to eat almost every part of a carcass - including hide and skull.
- They have a thick-set, squat build, with a relatively large broad head, and short thick tail.
- They eat any meat available: insects, birds, even beached fish as well as small mammals, such as possums, wallabies and wombats.
- Mostly they scavenge alone for food and rapidly locate dead animals in the bush.
- Because they’re a marsupial, female devils have a pouch and can feed up to 4 baby devils at a time.
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Adult males weigh up to 12 kg and stand about 30cm high at the shoulder. They are bigger than adult females.
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Tasmania devils live in wet sclerophyll forest or woodland in a log, cave or the disused burrow of another animal.
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Click HERE to download a Fact Sheet about Tasmanian Devils.
Interesting Facts
- The Tasmanian Devil is Australia’s largest living marsupial carnivore (and Australia's only specialised mammalian scavenger).
- They earned their common name because of their blood-curdling nocturnal screams.
Devils can eat up to 10% of their body weight in a day.
- They are actually a shy, wary creature. Their feisty displays are an attempt to intimidate others and thus avoid a fight - particularly as a carcass can attract a number of devils to it.
- They store fat in their tail.
- Early European settlers hunted them nearly to extinction as they mistakenly believed they would be capable of killing farm animals. A reward of 25c for males and 35c for females was given for all devils killed.
- In 1941 a law was passed protecting them.
- They have been extinct on the Australian mainland for what is believed to be about 600 years.
- Today they are found only on the island State of Tasmania.
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