A Tasmanian Devil's Tough Infancy

 The gestational period for Tasmanian Devils is only around 21 days.

Picture from Zooborns

The Devil mother can birth anywhere from 20-40 babies, each as tiny as a grain of rice.  It's tough being a young devil as the survival rate is low.  The mother only has four teats in her pouch, so the first four devils who latch on are typically the only survivors.

Tasmanian Devil Tumour Disease

 Since 1996, facial tumour disease has accounted for nearly 50% of tasmanian devil deaths.

Picture from Marty Bugs

The disease is contagious and passed from one animal to another. Scientists are removing the sick animals and quarantining healthy devils in case the wild population dies out.  Individual devils die within months of infection.

Tasmanian Devils Strictly Carnivorous

The tasmanian devil, just like in the Looney Tunes cartoons, is known for going into a crazy rage when threatened by a predator. It is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world, reaching 30 inches in length and up to 26 pounds. It is strictly carnivorous, eating snakes, birds, fish and insects. Because it’s a marsupial, when a tasmanian devil is well fed, its tail swells up to store fat. Unfortunately, a horrible illness (a rare contagious cancer) discovered in the mid-1990s has killed thousands of Tasmanian devils.

Largest carnivorous marsupial

The Tasmanian Devil is a nocturnal animal and prefers to eat carrion. They got their name from the terrible sounding screams they make. Go here to hear how they sound.

Baby Tasmanian Devils are called Joeys. 50 are born and are only about the size of a grain of rice. They must make their way from the birth canal to their mother’s pouch (about 3 inches away) and latch on to a teat. However, there are only 4 teats! The 4 successful joeys stay attached to the nipple for almost 3 months!

JJ

Photo courtesy of Wayne McLean. This is their "I feel threatened and want to scare you away" stance.

Ankle spurs - for males only

You may have heard that the platypus is an egg laying mammal, but you may not know it is also venomous like the scorpion! But only the males come equipped with poison. Their venom is located in ankle spurs on the hind feet.

A platypus also stores fat in its tail. This is a trait is shares with the Tasmanian Devil (no, they’re not just a cartoon!) Both of these critters live in Australia—another place I’d like to visit.


JJ