AN UNUSUAL ANIMAL

Tasmanian Devil

Tasmania Devil Park is a delightful little park. Having only heard about the devil, I was anxious to see one.  There were three or four of them in an enclosure. It was fun to watch them run around and play.

A park guide told us, “The Tasmanian Devil is a wolverine-like animal extinct on the Australian mainland and found only in Tasmania. It is a carnivorous marsupial. The size of a small dog, black in color, it has a spine tingling screech. Its powerful jaws can crack bones so when feeding it can devour the entire animal. It is fearful rather than aggressive. A picture showing its teeth is usually a yawn rather than an aggressive act. Aggression is shown with loud noises.”

      Tasmanian Devils are synchronous breeders, mating in March, the babies are born in April/May. A female can have 6-8 pups, but she only has four nipples so only four pups can survive. The gestation period is only four weeks, but the pups suckle in the pouch for another six months. They generally live about five years. Inhabiting virtually all of Tasmania, they survive any and all climates, sleeping by day, and eating at night.

        Devils raiding poultry yards were a nuisance to early settlers . At one time there was a bounty offered for them  driving them to  remote areas. When protected in 1941, they had been hunted almost to extinction. The population has survived, and today is a healthy one.

The guide continued, “Although they have a reputation of killing sheep, they are rather inept killers, preying on small animals when they do kill. They prefer to scavenge, and are very good at it.  When under stress they produce a rather unpleasant odor, but when calm are not smelly but   rather tidy animals.”

    After watching the devils for awhile we strolled off and came upon a park guide who was holding an animal neither of us had ever seen.

It turned out to be Lilly, a baby wombat, who was just as cute as can be. About 18 months old she was still small enough to be held in a caretaker’s arms.

We were told, “Wombats grow to about the size of a pig, and they can do a lot of damage to a car if one is unlucky enough to hit one on the road. They burrow. See how their front and back claws are different. They dig with their front claws then throw the dirt back with the hind claws. A marsupial, they suckle in the pouch for six months, then stick around with mom for another twelve months. Related to the koala, wombats are vegetarians, and are nocturnal. In the wild they live 5-8 years, about 20 years in captivity. They have a hard steel-like back plate. When threatened, they head into their burrow, placing the hard plate at the entrance, which protects them, as nothing can penetrate it.”

Interesting animals indeed, and probably a couple we may never see again.