The Tasmanian devil received this name because it is believed that he is very aggressive. In addition, it produces a characteristic frightening sound. In fact, he is rather shy, feeds mainly on carrion and rarely hunts live prey. Earlier, even before the distribution of the dingo dog in Australia, the animal we were considering lived on the mainland. Today, the Tasmanian devil is an animal that lives only in Tasmania, where it has no natural enemies, but is still an endangered species. The animal hunts at night, and spends days in the undergrowth. Lives on trees in hard leaves, also appears on rocky areas. He sleeps in different places: from a hollow in a tree to a cave in a rock.
Tasmanian devil - aggressive marsupial
Most of us associate this animal, first of all, with a cartoon character. In fact, this animal is as uncontrollable as its fabulous counterpart. But the facts show that even one individual in just one night can kill up to 60 pieces of poultry.
Tasmanian devils are peculiar animals. These are small marsupials with features like a rat, sharp teeth and thick black or brown hair. The animal is stunted, but do not be deceived: this creature is very fighting and is quite frightening.
Description of the Tasmanian Devil
The real Tasmanian devil, in fact, is completely different from the famous cartoon character. It is not this size and does not create a storm near the surroundings, like a swirling tornado. The Tasmanian devil has a length of 51 to 79 centimeters and weighs only 4 to 12 kg. These animals show sexual dimorphism: males are larger than females. Their life expectancy is an average of 6 years.
It is the largest carnivorous marsupial that currently exists. The body of the beast is strong, strong and disproportionate: a large head, tail is almost half the length of the body of the animal. This is where most of the fat accumulates, which is why healthy individuals have very thick and long tails. On the front legs of the beast there are five fingers: four simple and one pointing to the side. This feature gives them the opportunity to keep food in their paws. On the hind limbs, four fingers with very long and sharp claws.
The animal - the Tasmanian devil - has very strong jaws, reminiscent of the structure of the jaw of a hyena. They have prominent fangs, four pairs of upper incisors and three lower. The beast can open its jaw to a width of 80 degrees, this allows it to generate a very large bite force. Thanks to this, he is able to eat a whole carcass and thick bones.
Habitat
The Tasmanian devil resides on the island of Tasmania in Australia, whose area is about 35,042 square miles (90,758 square kilometers). Although these animals can live anywhere on the island, they prefer coastal shrubs and dense and dry forests. Often drivers can meet them on roads where devils feed on carrion. Because of this, they often die under the wheels of cars. Traffic signs are very common in Tasmania, warning drivers about the possibility of the appearance of a Tasmanian devil. But no matter what area of the island these animals inhabit, they sleep under rocks or in caves, hollows or burrows.
Habits
There is one thing in common between the animal and the cartoon character of the same name: bad temperament. When the devil senses a threat, he turns into anger, in which he growls, rushes and grins his teeth. He also emits otherworldly eerie cries that can seem very intimidating. The latter feature can be explained by the fact that the Tasmanian devil is a lonely animal.
This unusual beast leads a nocturnal lifestyle: it sleeps during the day and is awake at night. This feature can be explained by their desire to avoid dangerous predators - eagles and people. At night, during the hunt, he can cover a distance of more than 15 km due to his long hind limbs. The Tasmanian devil also has a long mustache, allowing him to navigate the terrain and look for prey, especially at night.
The habit of hunting at night is explained by their ability to see everything in black and white. Therefore, they respond well to movement, but have problems with a clear vision of stationary objects. Their most developed sense is hearing. They also have a well-developed sense of smell - they smell at a distance of more than 1 km.
Interesting fact
Young devils know how to climb well and gain a foothold in the trees, but with age this ability is lost. Most likely, this is the result of adaptation to environmental conditions of Tasmanian devils, whose lifestyle is also marked by cases of cannibalism. Adults during severe hunger can eat young, which, in turn, defend themselves by climbing trees.
Power Features
As already mentioned, Tasmanian devils are carnivorous animals. Most of the time they eat birds, snakes, fish and insects. Sometimes even a small kangaroo can become their victim. Often, instead of hunting live animals, they feast on dead carcasses called carrion. Sometimes several animals can gather near one carcass, and then fights between them are inevitable. During the meal, they absorb everything without loss: they eat the bones, hair, internal organs and muscles of their prey.
A favorite food of the Tasmanian devil, due to the high content of fat in it, is wombat. But the animal may well enjoy any other mammal, fruit, frogs, tadpoles and reptiles. Their diet depends primarily on the availability of dinner. At the same time, they have a very good appetite: per day they can take food equal to half their weight.
Breeding and offspring
Tasmanian devils usually mate once a year, in March. Females very carefully choose a partner, and the latter can arrange real fights for her attention. In the female, the gestation period lasts about three weeks, and the babies are born in April. The offspring can be up to 50 cubs. Young devils are pink and hairless, about the size of a grain of rice, their weight is approximately 24 grams.
Breeding Tasmanian devils is closely linked to intense competition. At birth, young individuals are in the mother’s bag where they compete for one of her four nipples. Only these four will have a chance to survive; others die due to malnutrition. The cubs remain in the mother bag for four months. As soon as they come out, the mother carries them on her back. After eight or nine months, the devils fully grow. Tasmanian devils live from five to eight years.
Conservation status
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Red List of Endangered Species, the Tasmanian devil is threatened with extinction, its number is decreasing every year. In 2007, IUCN estimated that the spread of the Tasmanian devil is declining. Then there were about 25,000 adults.
Since 2001, the population of this animal has declined by at least 60% due to a cancer called tumor of the face (DFTD). DFTD causes a tumor on the surface of the face of the beast, making it difficult for him to eat normally. Ultimately, the animal dies of hunger. This is an infectious disease, due to which the species was on the verge of extinction. Today, the devil conservation program is in place - a movement created at the initiative of Australia and the Tasmanian government to save animals from a terrible disease.