I am as black as the night and I give an eerie growl. I have a very bad temper and I look like a cross between a wolf and a black cat. I live in only one place in the world—the island of Tasmania, off the coast of Australia. The early European settlers of Tasmania called me a 'devil' because they heard my bloodcurdling screech in the night and they saw my wide mouth and sharp teeth. I am called a Tasmanian Devil. But you'll have to decide for yourself if I am really a devil.

I am unusual because my species is the largest surviving carnivorous marsupial in the world. Carnivorous means 'flesh eating', but we also eat bones, fur, feet and skin. Our diet consists of moths, tadpoles, frogs, birds, reptiles, snakes, wallabies, wombats, platypuses and even echidnas—spines and all! We don't mind rotting corpses, so we love animals which are killed on the road by cars speeding along. The pressure from our jaws is the strongest of any animal in the world and is four times stronger than a dog of the same size.

Marsupials, like me, are very unusual animals. We have babies but instead of carrying them around in our hands, or leaving them in the nest, we have a pouch to keep them safe for the first months. Our pouch faces backwards. Up to 40 babies are born and crawl to one of four teats in the pouch. Only the four strongest survive the journey. They stay in the pouch for 15 weeks, but Mom feeds them for two months longer.

We weigh up to 26 pounds (12 kilograms) and stand about a foot high at the shoulder (30 centimeters). Usually we trot, but if we are in a hurry, we can travel faster at a gallop. Only our young can climb trees. They like to escape from the 'oldies'.

We are black all over with some white striping on our back and chest, and have a short, thick tail. We have a pointy snout like a dog's, large ears and beady eyes. To make up for our poor eyesight, our sense of smell is fabulous. We can smell blood half a mile (one kilometer) away, making it easy for us to find a dead or injured animal. Also, we can hear the sound of another devil munching three miles (five kilometers) away.

Our natural habitat is dry bush land, scrubland, or rainforest from the coast to the mountains—anywhere we can hide. We spend the day in a hollow log or cave or the old burrows made by wombats, another Australian marsupial. At night we hunt. Sometimes, we enjoy lying in the sun, but only if we feel safe.

We travel alone, but we are forced to share our food with other devils because we need help to tear the meat, bones and skin apart. When we find dinner on the road, we share it according to a pecking order. If one devil is the strongest, he gets the best food; as you get lower in the order, you are not as strong and not as well fed.

You can come to visit us in wildlife reserves where scientists breed us to study our behavior. Tourists love to see our super-wide mouth and hear our snarls, barks, and screams. You'll enjoy seeing a cute baby Tasmanian devil. But beware of its sharp teeth and its gleaming eye as it looks for its supper. Remember, we are called little devils after all!

References

Bailey, Jill. Factfile of Mammals: 200 Mammals From Around the World.
London: Andromeda Oxford Ltd, 1996.

Macdonald, Dr David, ed. The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Myers, Philip. Mammals, An Explore your World Handbook. London: Discovery Books, 2000.

Internet Source:

University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - Animal Diversity Web

Photo, courtesy Talune Wildlife Park
View more photos here

Margaret Etherton is a teacher, tutor and freelance writer. She has taught a range of subjects, such as reading, writing, mathematics and computers to people of all ages--- from small kids to seniors! Margaret lives close to the beach in Sydney with her husband, two of her four children and her cat, Mushka.

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