Yes, that is correct. You probably guessed that I'm doing a different kind of blog post for this entry. (No, I'm not talking about the Warner Bros. version of the animal!) I'm posting about the real-life animal that lives in the wild ONLY on the Australian island of Tasmania. Tazzy devils are assumed to be scary, ferocious creatures but they're actually not nearly as fearsome as Warner Bros has made them out to be in their Looney Tunes and Taz-Mania cartoon shows over the years. These animals are mostly scavengers (eating things that are already dead) and their feeding times have been described as free-for-alls, filled with screams, growls and other noises. However, they will actually sometimes eat alone and take only what they need rather than trying to consume the whole carcass. Due to their scavenging nature, they are great at cleaning up the island of dead carcasses which of course helps the island stay clean and free of disease. Also too, these guys come out mostly at night (they're nocturnal). T-Devils are about the size of a small dog or guinea pig with black fur and with some of them sporting white patches on their bodies. Another cool fact about Tasmanian devils is that younger ones can actually climb trees. This has been speculated to be the devil way to sniff and spot out more food to eat. These creatures are my favourites, one reason being their ability to carry their young in pouches just as kangaroos and koalas do (these creatures are all called marsupials). Another great thing about devils is that they have immense jaw power that (in adults at least) is capable of chomping through kangaroo leg bones and/or leather boots! One more thing about T-Devils is that they love to sunbathe. No one knows why these lovable critters sunbathe, but I think it's because they like the sun on their fur and it helps to warm them up when they are cold. (Cats such as leopards will do the same thing.) These creatures are a protected species, but they are still in danger of extinction. Why? Tazzy devils have no genetic diversity which makes them more susceptible to diseases. One such disease is known as "devil facial tumour disease". This is a cancer-like tumour that attacks the face of the Tazzy devil, making it more difficult to eat. They get infected due to biting during the short and fierce mating season that goes on every year. Infected devils can die of starvation only months after first contracting the tumour. The immune system of the T-devil doesn't recognize and respond to the tumour because of the low genetic diversity. T-devils have 14 chromosomes while the tumour has 13 and the chromosomes of both are eerily similar. This is also why the immune system of the animal doesn't attack the tumour. In fact, according to the website of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, 90% of the devil population in some areas of the island have been wiped out by the disease. Here's some more information about the problem. You'll see the 90% thing at the top of every page on that website. We'll just have to pray and donate and volunteer and hope that this disease can be eradicated for good. Some more information about the Tasmanian Devil can also be found here: Wikipedia In addition, here are some great videos on the subject:
National Geographic (TV segments)
Bite of the Tasmanian Devil
Mutant Devils
These next ones are for the kids!
Kratts Creatures (an old 90's TV show)
(the episode is in three parts):
In Search of the Tasmanian Tiger (part 1)
In Search of the Tasmanian Tiger (part 2)
In Search of the Tasmanian Tiger (part 3)
Wild Kratts (Chris and Martin Kratt's newest show)
(this episode is in two parts):
Tazzy Chris (part 1)
Tazzy Chris (part 2)
Two more videos for us adults!
Bill Flowers (the snake artist on Youtube):
A Talk to get the Christians to accept the Taz Devil as a symbol of Christ
Just to show that you CAN be friends with Tazzy Devils!
Lastly, here is the Amazon link for a good book that I have in PDF format. It's called Tasmanian Devil: A Unique and Threatened Animal by David Owen and David Pemberton. It was first released in 2004, but it has been reissued since then. The Amazon copy is from 2006. Here's the book info. Well, there you go! I hope this post has been a great one and I hope the Tasmanian Devil will win the battle against Devil Facial Tumour Disease! Have a good one.
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