Tasmanian devil: affectionate animal or dangerous predator. Tasmanian devil: description, photo, video - the terrible cry of the marsupial devil The Tasmanian devil is an aggressive marsupial

The Taman devil is a marsupial mammal. He is a predator, as evidenced by his toothy mouth and eerie screams at night. Despite its relatively small size, this living creature instilled fear in the first settlers in Europe, for which it was called the “devil.”

Appearance of the Taman devil.

The Taman devil is one of the largest marsupial predators. But in fact, its size does not exceed the size of an average dog. The body shape and color of the animal resembles a bear cub. Its body length is no more than 90 cm, plus a long tail up to 35 cm. Males are larger and more weight than females.

The Taman devil has very strong paws, but the forelimbs are slightly shorter than the hind limbs, which adds clumsiness to the animal. The head appears large and out of proportion, the muzzle is blunt. The ears are short and have pink color. In the area of the chest and rump the fur is white; on the rest of the body it is short, stiff and black. The tail of the Tasmanian devil can change its thickness, as fat reserves are deposited in it and during periods of hunger the tail becomes thin. Another feature of this animal is the absence of the first toe on its hind legs.

Very strong jaws are covered with sharp and large teeth. The animal is able to bite and crush bones with its molars.

Only females have a bursa, and it is a fold of skin in the form of a horseshoe on the abdomen, in which 4 nipples are located.

Photo: evil Taman devil.

Habitats

Nowadays, the Tasmanian devil can only be found on the island of Tasmania, but it once lived in Australia. From there he disappeared about 500 years ago. According to scientists, the Tasmanian devil was supplanted by dingo dogs, which were brought by the aborigines of the mainland.

In Tasmania, devils were first exterminated because they ravaged chicken coops. Animals began to move to mountainous and undeveloped areas, their population was rapidly declining, and in 1941 a law was passed banning hunting of the Tasmanian devil. Now these animals lead a quiet lifestyle in almost all parts of the island.

Lifestyle and diet

The devil can never be found in areas where there are no forests and a lot of people. Most of them live in coastal savannas, near pastures, and sclerophyll-rain forests.

During the day, the marsupial devil prefers to rest in a hole or crevices between stones, where he brings grass, bark, leaves and makes a real bed for himself. And at night he goes hunting.

In order to feel good, the Tasmanian devil needs to eat a volume of food equal to 15% of its body weight. Its diet includes lizards, birds, insects, small mammals, roots and tubers of plants. He also loves river and sea food, for example, frogs. But most often the animal is content with the carrion of fish, rabbits, sheep, and rats. He is not so willing to eat fresh corpses, but prefers slightly decomposed ones, such strange tastes. The bloodthirsty Tasmanian devil eats its prey along with its fur and bones.

Tasmanian devil, thanks to its love for carrion, will save sheep from infection by blow flies, because it eats rotten meat in which these flies multiply and develop.

Within a radius of up to 15 km from its refuge, the Tasmanian devil considers its territory to be its own. He regularly inspects the property at night. These are solitary animals; they will not share either land or prey with their relatives.

The Tasmanian devil makes growling, rasping sounds near danger and high-pitched screams to scare intruders away from its burrow.

If there is no danger nearby, the marsupial devil becomes clumsy, but at the slightest threat he takes off running, developing speeds of up to 15 km/h. These animals swim very poorly.

The Tasmanian devil has virtually no natural enemies. They were once part of the diet of marsupial wolves and dingoes, but after migrating to Tasmania, their only enemy was the fox, which was illegally brought to the island in 2000.

These animals are quite tame and can be kept as pets.

Photo: tame Taman devil.

Reproduction

The mating period occurs at the beginning of spring. Pregnancy lasts only 3 weeks, and ends with the birth of 20 cubs, but only 4 survive, because there are only 4 nipples in the female’s pouch. After 3 months, the babies are completely overgrown with hair and their eyes open. At 4 months they leave the pouch, but periodically feed on milk for another couple of months. 6 months after birth, the cubs leave their mother for good, entering an independent life.

The lifespan of the Tasmanian devil is about 8 years.

Touching upon the topic of marsupials, it is impossible to ignore one of the most famous inhabitants island of Tasmania - the Tasmanian (Tasmanian) devil. Due to its black coloring, stocky powerful body, huge mouth with sharp teeth, terrible taste preferences and increased aggressiveness, Europeans called this animal the “devil.” And, you know, it’s not in vain. Even its Latin name has something sinister - Sarcophilus translates as "lover of flesh."

The growl of the marsupial devil is terrifying and initially resembles a whiny grunt, which later develops into a terrible cough with wheezing. If the animal is angry, it emits a piercing low roar. These wild, seemingly unnatural sounds still scare people. And they scream often.

The animal is similar in color and stocky body build to a bear. The head of the Tasmanian devil is quite large in proportion to the body, the tail is short, the body itself is approximately 50 cm long. The color is black, but sometimes there are individuals interspersed with white spots. Because of his appearance And wild temperament The Tasmanian devil was actively exterminated; scientists believe that this species of animal used to live on the Australian mainland, but now it is found only on the island of Tasmania.

Animals have a knack for cleanliness. They constantly lick themselves, wash themselves, folding their front paws into a boat, and love water treatments. Tasmanian devils are very strong animals and, despite my big size They are not afraid to attack animals that are significantly larger than them, such as sheep.

The “devil” himself doesn’t look like a devil at all. Except he has a very bad character, and he growls so loudly that it sends goosebumps down your spine. Currently, the Tasmanian devil is the largest marsupial predator. Previously, this status belonged to the marsupial wolf. It is the size of a small dog, however, thanks to its dense, squat body and dark, almost black color with white spots on the throat and sides, it can resemble a brown bear cub.

The marsupial devil is very gluttonous and indiscriminate in food. It feeds on almost everything: small and medium-sized animals, birds, insects, amphibians, snakes, plant tubers and edible roots. Carrion is also included in his diet, and, moreover, is almost one of the main dishes. They eat any corpses, preferring already decomposed rotten meat. Only the largest bones remain from the animal's corpse. Thus, the Tasmanian devil serves as the island's natural orderly.

These animals are nocturnal, and during the daytime they most often take refuge in rock crevices, in empty holes, or in bushes and make a nest of bark, leaves and grass. Sometimes they can be seen basking in the sun. At night they walk around their properties in search of prey, most often carrion.

Devils are loners. They gather in small groups only when large prey is eaten. Sometimes during such feasts, skirmishes occur between males, accompanied by fights with a terrifying growl, which has given this animal a bad reputation.

The female carries 2-4 cubs in her pouch. Although initially she brings up to 20-30 cubs, most of which die before reaching the pouch. The “lucky ones” develop quickly; by the age of 3 months they are covered with fur and their eyes open. Feeding of the cubs continues until 4-5 months of age, but 7-8 months after birth the babies finally leave their mother and begin to live independently. Puberty in females it occurs in the second year of life.

But, despite its terrible character, some residents keep the marsupial devil as a pet. They can be tamed, although you should do it carefully and it’s better to start with the cubs, otherwise you may end up without fingers.

In the note about the thylacine, we said that in addition to extermination by humans, this species of marsupial was attacked by canine plague, which claimed the lives of many animals. This is how the Tasmanian devil developed its own disease. It's called devil facial tumor disease, or DFTD.

The disease was first reported in 1999. It causes numerous malignant tumors on the animal's head, which then spread throughout the body. Tumors block the animal's vision, hearing and mouth. It can no longer hunt or eat and dies of hunger. The disease is caused by a virus transmitted to a healthy animal during fights and bites. According to sources, DFTD is unique to these animals and its outbreaks recur every 80-150 years.

Various anti-epidemic measures are being carried out, including the capture of sick animals, as well as the creation of “reserve” populations in case the animal dies out from this disease. Unfortunately, there is no cure for it yet.

Being the largest of modern predatory marsupials, this black animal with white spots on the chest and rump, with a huge mouth and sharp teeth has a dense physique and a stern disposition, for which, in fact, it was called the Tasmanian devil (lat. Sarcophilus harrisii ). Emitting ominous screams at night, the massive and clumsy beast looks like little bear: the front legs are slightly longer than the hind legs, the head is large, the muzzle is blunt.

Sarcophilus (Greek) lover of flesh) is the name of its genus. These animals reach 50-80 cm in length, up to 30 cm in height and 12 kg in weight, the tail length is up to 30 cm. The female’s pouch opens backwards. Males are larger than females, but in principle a lot depends on age, nutrition and habitat: the size and weight of animals can change in one direction or another.

But what is invariable for everyone is small pink ears, short hair, a strong tail (where fat reserves are deposited), large claws and the absence of the first toe on the hind limbs. , endowed by nature with sharp, strong teeth, is capable of taking a bite and crushing not only the bone, but also the spine of its prey with one bite!

Previously, this amazing animal lived on mainland Australia, but today the Tasmanian devil can only be found on the island of Tasmania. It is assumed that it was squeezed out by wild ones brought to the mainland by the aborigines. European settlers also did not spare the Tasmanian devil, mercilessly exterminating its family due to the animal’s habit of destroying chicken coops.

In 1941, an official ban on hunting the Tasmanian devil literally saved these animals from complete extinction from the face of the Earth. Currently they live in national parks Tasmania, in the northern, western and central parts of the island, living in almost any landscape conditions, with the exception of densely populated regions.

As for the lifestyle and diet of the Tasmanian devil, inhabiting coastal savannas, dry sclerophyll and mixed sclerophyll-rain forests, they feed mainly on carrion, small animals (rats, rabbits) and birds. Insects, snakes and amphibians are also used.

The Tasmanian devil is very voracious: in a day he must eat 15% of his body weight. If he does not eat enough food of animal origin, he can snack on plant tubers and edible roots. The animal is active at night, hiding in dense bushes and rock crevices during the day.

The animals live in burrows and under the trunk of a fallen tree, making nests out of leaves, bark and grass. He loves to walk along the shore of a reservoir, eating nearby frogs, crayfish and other small aquatic inhabitants. Possessing an excellent sense of smell, the Tasmanian devil can smell carrion at a great distance.

Here size doesn’t matter - if necessary, he will eat both a sheep and a cow! I am especially pleased if the meat is properly rotten and decomposed. Going in search of prey, which the Tasmanian devil eats completely, along with bones and wool, he can fight for it with the marsupial marten.

By nature, Tasmanian devils are loners. They gather in groups only in one case - when they need to eat something large. At the same time, they fight and growl loudly, squeak, scream, making a wide variety of sounds, which earns them an additional bad reputation.

As scavengers, the Tasmanian Devil plays a vital role in the Tasmanian ecosystem, significantly reducing the likelihood of blowfly infestation in sheep. Despite its harsh temperament, the Tasmanian devil can be tamed and kept as a pet. But you just don’t need to scare him, otherwise he will make bad smell.

Or, others - lions or tigers, and some - or octopuses.

In this article we will talk about a miniature bear, which bears the proud name - Tasmanian devil. So, who is the Tasmanian devil? Let's figure it out.

Description and appearance

Australia, known for its marsupials, is considered the homeland of the Tasmanian devil. The devil, in its shape and color, resembles a bear, albeit in miniature, because the length of the Australian predator reaches only 50 cm, and at the withers it is no taller than a yard.

The characteristic color of this animal is black with rare splashes of white spots. Man first encountered this predator during the colonization of the Australian continent, at a time when British prisoners were exiled to this huge island

. European pets were also brought to Australia along with the prisoners.

Thanks to the predatory features of the muzzle and the fickle mood, the Tasmanian miniature bear received such an unkind nickname. They also called him the devil because he makes sounds that are very unpleasant for human hearing, similar to whiny grumbling and howling, and in moments of anger - to a hoarse rumble, somewhat reminiscent of the rumble of a motorcycle.

The Tasmanian devil has a large head with a huge mouth dotted with sharp fangs. The power of its jaws is capable of crushing the bones, spine and even skulls of other animals in one bite.

Did you know? In terms of the ratio of bite force to body weight, the Tasmanian devil is the record holder among mammals.

Its stocky build and strong paws allow this predator to hunt all kinds of animals and even. The marsupial predator does not disdain sheep, rats, fish, and snakes. Also, if the hunt was unsuccessful, the animal may survive on carrion.

Habitat

Initially, the marsupial devil lived not only on the island of Tasmania, but throughout mainland Australia. But after the locals introduced dingoes, which became the main opponents of the marsupial predator, the devil population began to decline rapidly. When in 1941 the number of devils dropped to a crisis point, a ban on their extermination was introduced.
Today, the marsupial predator can only be found in national reserves and northwestern regions of the island of Tasmania. This type of predator is not found in other places.

The main opponents of this species were marsupial wolves (thiacins), but they are already extinct, as well as dingoes. Since 2001, when it was illegally brought to Tasmania, the miniature bear has a new enemy. Their struggle for habitats continues today.

Wild Lifestyle

Surely by this time you have already formed a certain opinion about this animal. Someone has probably already given up on the idea of taming a Tasmanian miniature bear and keeping it as a cute pet.

But there are probably those among you who have only begun to dream about it more and more. If you are one of the latter, then you can learn a lot more interesting and important information, which will be discussed in the following sections.

Nutrition

Marsupial devils live in any landscape. For them, the main thing is the presence of a large amount of food, since they daily norm consumption is approximately equal to 15% of body weight. We can conclude that these animals are very voracious.

Tasmanian devils feed on whatever they can get their hands on, as they say. They don't go overboard either fresh meat, nor missing. A special delicacy for these animals are already decomposed corpses of animals and fish with corpse worms infested there.

Thanks to their strong legs and powerful muscles, Tasmanian devils can easily climb trees or enter chicken coops and climb to roosts. Their strong, toothy jaws skillfully kill small animals and birds, as well as snakes, frogs and small fish, which devils hunt near water bodies.

By nature, they are clumsy and slow, and therefore spend most of the day sleeping somewhere in the shade of bushes or abandoned holes, but at nightfall they get out to their bloody hunt.

Tasmanian devils are colorful loners in the animal world. They can only be forced into groups by eating large carrion, such as a cow. Then a whole flock of marsupial devils gathers for a meal.
Often in such cases, clashes arise between males. It is in such skirmishes that miniature bears emit piercing, heart-rending and even devilish screams that can be heard for many kilometers around.

Did you know? In the excrement of Tasmanian devils, the remains of not only meat and carrion, but also many other objects were found. Among them were scraps of towels, rubber remnants from stingrays, a piece of boot sole and scraps of leather from a horse stirrup, as well as silver foil and echidna quills.

In addition to their incredible gluttony and diet that includes carrion, Tasmanian devils can cause other problems if they become your pet. During periods when the animal is afraid or stressed, a pungent, unpleasant odor is released, similar to the reaction of skunks.

So if this difficult animal ever appears in your home, be prepared for the fact that it will need to be surrounded with attention, care and... air fresheners.

Reproduction

The miniature bear is solitary by nature, but in March-April, when spring comes, they, like most animals, begin their breeding season. But even during this short period they show extraordinary aggression, demonstrating with all their appearance their reluctance to stay close to another representative of their race for a long time.
So, already on the 3rd day after sexual intercourse, the female drives away the male. On average, pregnancy lasts 21 days, after which about 30 cubs are born. It’s sad, but only the 4 strongest babies will survive, and they will be the first to attach to one of the female’s 4 nipples. The remaining cubs are eaten by the female.

At about the 3rd month, Tasmanian devil cubs' eyes open and they leave their mother's pouch, but do not move away completely. Only by the end of December the new generation of devils finally leaves their mother and becomes independent.

According to statistics, among the surviving devils, the majority are females, who begin to have sexual intercourse and reproduce already in the 2nd year.

Possible diseases

Like all living creatures on the planet, Tasmanian devils are also susceptible to many diseases, the worst of which is facial tumor. It is scary not only because of its terrifying appearance, but also because this disease is fatal, and there is no cure for it.
The only reassurance for those who decide to tame the devil is the fact that the disease is transmitted externally, that is, from an infected individual to a healthy one, through bites during fights for food or females. Over the past 20 years, this disease has destroyed more than 2/3 of the population.

The disease begins with the formation of small tumors near the animal’s mouth, which over time spread throughout the body and begin to grow, increasing in size. Around 12–18 months after infection, the tumors cover the mouth and completely block vision, leading to starvation.

Important! The mortality rate from facial tumors in the Tasmanian devil is 100%. No cures have been found to date.

In order to prevent the complete extinction of the species, special nurseries have been created that raise reserve populations. In addition, research is being conducted to find a cure for fatal disease, and there are already some successes.

For example, it was found that tumor processes occur in cells designed to protect nervous system animal, and also that when infected, the same structural changes occur in these cells. Now it’s up to the life-saving discovery of a drug that will be able to cure a sick devil.
But nature itself intervenes to save the miniature bear population. Thus, researchers found that females began to reproduce six months/year earlier than usual. And in addition, the breeding period of the Tasmanian devil now takes all year round, and not just the beginning of spring.

Is it possible to tame the Tasmanian devil?

Both small and adult individuals are capable of domestication. And if you really want to, you can tame them and make them pets. Now entire flocks are raised in artificial conditions. These animals are carefully monitored and cared for by people, and therefore the animals have become tame and are not afraid of us.

The main thing to remember: don't scare the little bear, otherwise it may emit a very unpleasant odor. Raw meat is used for feeding, and sometimes vegetables are added. If you come to terms with its strange and frightening sounds, the Tasmanian marsupial can become a funny, but still capricious little animal.

Is there a chance of buying a predator?

As we have already found out, you can tame the devil, but can you buy him? Unfortunately, the Tasmanian devil is not released from its native country. Tasmania has banned the export of these animals from its territory, and you are unlikely to be able to find a miniature bear for sale.

The only thing that can be done is to find people in your country who are engaged in artificial cultivation this type of animal. This is the only way you can get an exclusive pet.

But before you storm the Internet in search of sellers of Tasmanian devils, it is better to go to the reserve where these animals are located to look at them in reality, because they look beautiful in the picture, but in reality everything looks completely different.
The Tasmanian miniature bear is, without a doubt, a very interesting and capricious animal, loving solitude and hunting under the cover of darkness. It's hard to imagine that just 20 years ago this type practically disappeared from the face of the earth, but through the forces of people and the forces of nature itself, their population was saved.

And although they seem like cute, tame and harmless little bear cubs, in fact they are real predators with powerful clawed paws and strong jaws, capable of breaking a skull or crushing bones in one bite. Therefore, before you decide to start such a difficult pet, it’s worth thinking carefully about this idea and first taking a look at the object of your dreams in reality.

And if after contact with the marsupial devil you want to see him in your home even more, feel free to look for a nursery and tame the mysterious and peculiar, ferocious and whimsical, but at the same time sweet and cute Tasmanian devil.

The Tasmanian devil (or, as it is also called, the marsupial devil) lives on the Tasmanian island, which is one of the Australian states. Previously, Tasmanian devils lived on the continental territory of the country, but they could not compete with the dingo dogs that the first settlers brought to the continent. Tasmanian devils avoid places inhabited by humans and find refuge near sheep pastures.

The Tasmanian devil is a predator, which is why it has sharp fangs. The size is about the size of a small dog, the weight of an adult Tasmanian devil is about 12 kilograms. The animal has a black color, which becomes lighter in the nose area. The Tasmanian devil can be identified by the horizontal white stripe on its sternum. Males are larger than females. Females have folds on the skin similar to a bag. In the tail area of the Tasmanian devil there are fat deposits that serve as an energy reserve in case of prolonged hunger. A fasting Tasmanian devil's tail fat gradually disappears.

The Tasmanian devil feeds on birds and small animals - it can often be seen trying to catch small animals near bodies of water. However, Tasmanian devils do not disdain carrion left by other predators. They can also eat edible plants and roots. When eating food, the Tasmanian devil makes loud sounds that can be heard within a kilometer radius.