Tasmanian Devil

The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial belonging to the family Dasyuridae. Once living across mainland Australia, it is now only found in Tasmania. It is about the size of a small dog, and following the thylacine extinction in 1936, it is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.

The Tasmanian Devil has a stocky and muscular body, black fur, and a strong odour. Its call is a loud and disturbing howling screech which you can hear by playing the audio track below:

The beast has a keen sense of smell and is ferocious when feeding. When I was trapping in the highlands of Tasmania, if a Tasmanian Devil found a possum before me, the only remnants would be a few tufts of hair. They ate the lot, bones, head, feet and fur. I haven’t heard of too many people troubled by the Tassie Devil, but I would always cock an ear when I heard them snuffling about in the night.

The Tasmanian devil’s great blocky head and strong neck allow it to generate one of the strongest bites per unit body mass of any living mammal land predator. The jaw can open to 75–80 degrees,s as seen in the picture to the left. It does hunt prey itself but also scavenges carrion. Although it usually lives alone, it sometimes shares food with other devils and defecates in a communal location.

Unlike most other dasyurids, the devil thermoregulates and can be active during the middle of the day without overheating. Despite its portly appearance, the Tasmania Devil is capable of surprisingly high speed (13 km/h or 8.1 mph) for a short distances and can lope along for miles. It can also climb trees and swim across creeks and rivers. The fur is usually black, sometimes with white patches on the chest and rump (although approximately 16% of wild devils do not have white patches).

Facial Tumors

The facial tumour disease peculiar to Tasmanian Devils has impacted the population and threatened the species’ survival. In 2008 it was declared to be endangered. Programs are currently underway to reduce the disease’s impact— including a group of healthy devils in captivity. In 1987, I helped build an enclosure for Victoria’s Philip Island wildlife park.  Devils from the Mole Creek area in Tasmania were translocated. I have often wondered where they ended up. More information on the tumour disease is available on the Tasmanian National Parks website.