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Tasmanian devil

Sarcophilus harrisii

Photo by lori.tas
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

A carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate the strongest bite per unit body mass of any living mammal, and it hunts prey and scavenges carrion as well as eating household products if humans are living nearby.

Habitat:

Tasmanian devil Conservation Park.

Notes:

A male and female fighting over a piece of kangaroo meat. These three-year-olds have been put together in hopes that they will mate. The smaller female is on th left.

Reference Links:

Tasmanian Devil

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (7)
lori.tas
Hi matimar1. In order to keep the devils diet as natural as possible, the parks feed them the whole animal; bones, fur, and all. Much of it is road kill.
Christiane
Please consider adding this to the "Marsupials of the World" mission at http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8445402
JOHN2
Thanks for update. Hope science can give these guys a new lease on life!
lori.tas
John2, unfortunately no. It's called Devil Facial Tumor Disease and it is a unique form of cancer that can actually be spread between animals by biting. Since they habitually bite each other when feeding or mating, there are few animals in the wild that have escaped the disease. Estimates are that 90% of the wild devils have been affected. The best hope is that the so-far unaffected pocket in the NW of the state will stay disease free and repopulate the other areas once the disease has died out along with its affected host animals. If eventually all wild devils die out, the conservation parks will serve as a disease-free insurance population, which can then be reintroduced into the wild. Thanks Ariana.
Ariana
Wow, this is a fantastic photo. I love the colors.
JOHN2
Have they found a cure or prevention for that nasty skin disease that has been killing them? I've watched several nature shows about it on tv.
lori.tas
ps, yes, that is a devil photo that I use as my avatar.

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Marsupials of the World
Photographed
PublishedDecember 9, 2010

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