Tassie Devils & Tigers

No, unfortunately I did not see any Tasmanian Devils while I was in Tasmania. The below photos are from wildlife parks on mainland Australia. But I did learn a lot about these interesting little creatures.

First of all, Tasmanian Devils were recently put on the endangered species list. Yep. The Devils in Tassie have been getting a facial tumor disease that has been killing them off. Sad. Researchers aren't sure why they are getting sick or what is causing it, but it has been spreading rapidly. So they are sending healthy Devils to zoos and parks around the world so that the species will not die out. There is a very real possibility that Tasmanian Devils will become extinct in Tasmania.

A "side effect", if you will, of this problem is lots and lots of roadkill in Tassie. Devils are scavengers and will eat any dead animals found along roadsides. Since there are fewer and fewer Devils there is more and more roadkill.

Tasmanian Devils are nocturnal marsupials (marsupials: mammals that have a pouch in which they carry their young, like kangaroos). They have incredibly powerful jaws and can eliminate all traces of a carcass, devouring the bones and fur in addition to the meat and internal organs. While in Tassie, I heard a story about a man who had gone missing. Turns out he had been killed in some unknown way, then his body had been devoured by a Tasmanian Devil. Apparently the top of the skull (at least in humans) is the only part of the body too thick for a Devil to eat through. Somehow this piece of skull was discovered and used to identify the man. That was the way they learned of the mans death. Crazy, huh?



I learned about another animal while I was in Tasmania - the Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine. A dog-like animal with a stripped back. Like the Devil, it too was a carnivorous marsupial. It is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century (about the 1930's). This photo was taken from actual television footage at a museum exhibit of the Tiger while I was in Hobart. I just thought it was interesting. I had no idea this animal had even existed. Apparently there have been a few reports over the years of Tiger sightings, but despite searches, no conclusive evidence has been found to point to its continued existence in the wild.
This photo came from a shop sign in Hobart.