Tasmanian Devil

WHAT'S ON THE MENU?

Devils hunt and scavenge for their food.
Their diet is mainly fresh carrion (dead
animals) but to survive they'll eat almost
anything; birds, fish, moths and other
insects, tadpoles, frogs, reptiles,
wallabies, echidnas (quills and all),
platypuses and wombats.
Sarcophilus Ianiarius
Their preferred prey tends to be medium
to large in size, and consists of
pademelons, Bennett’s wallabies,
brushtail possums and baby wombats.
The devils’ keen sense of smell helps
them locate food, and their night vision is
designed to detect movement rather than
detail. Because of this they can track
down and eat some less appetizing items.
Aluminium foil, steel pot scrapers and
parts of leather boots have been found in
their droppings, as well as a wallaby paw
with a snare still attached!
Devils have excellent hearing, and when a
carcass is found, it is not long before
other devils in the area arrive on the
scene - alerted to a meal by the raucous
sounds of those already feeding and the
smell of flesh.

MEAT LOVER OR DEVIL?

When the Tasmanian devil was described scientifically, it was given the

name Sarcophilus

meaning meat lover. Today's devil is actually thought to be the same species as the giant

fossilized devil of the much cooler Pleistocene period, when huge marsupials roamed the continent of Australia.

In cooler climates larger body size is often an adaptation to reduce heat loss by reducing the

surface area of the body compared with its volume. Decide for yourself which name is better suited, meat lover or devil?

Devils are Tasmania's largest native terrestrial camivores and with the demise of the thylacine -

Tasmanian tiger - they have become the world's largest marsupial camivores. They are found

only in Tasmania and through recent history have been particularly common in the north-east,

central, east and far north west of the state. Fossil records indicate they were once widespread

throughout Australia - Their extinction o the mainland may have been due to climate change,

disease and the arrival of Australia's wild dog, the dingo.

WILD DEVILS

These shy and generally wary animals are rarely seen in the wild, and very few live longer than five years.

Devils are noctumal - active at night - and although they may enjoy a spot of sun baking, only

desperately hungry or sick animals will feed during the day.

To survive in the wild, devils must stay alert and use all their senses.