Tasmanian Devil

The Tasmanian devil is a small, meat-eating marsupial that lives only on the island of Tasmania, off the southern coast of Australia. A marsupial is a kind of mammal that raises its babies in a pouch. The devil is the largest meat-eating marsupial left in the world. Adults are about the size of a small dog. They weigh 15 to 25 pounds and have black fur, a stubby face, and a thick tail.

Devils got their scary name from early European settlers. At night, the settlers heard loud screams and growls coming from the forest. When they finally spotted the animal making the noise, they saw black fur, sharp teeth, and red ears that glowed in firelight. They called it a devil, and the name stuck.

Devils are mostly scavengers. That means they eat animals that are already dead. A devil can chew through almost every part of a carcass, including the bones and fur. Its jaws are amazingly strong for its size. A group of devils eating together can finish off a whole dead wallaby in a few hours, leaving nothing behind.

Baby devils are called joeys. A mother devil can give birth to 20 or 30 joeys at one time, but she only has four nipples inside her pouch. The first four joeys to reach the pouch are the only ones that survive. This sounds harsh, but it is how devils have lived for a very long time. The joeys stay in the pouch for about four months before crawling out.

Tasmanian devils are in serious trouble. In the mid-1990s, scientists noticed devils with huge growths on their faces. The growths turned out to be a cancer that spreads from one devil to another when they bite each other while fighting or eating. The disease is called Devil Facial Tumor Disease. It has killed most of the wild population. Since it first appeared, the number of devils has dropped by more than 80 percent.

Scientists are working hard to save the species. Some healthy devils have been moved to safe islands and wildlife parks where the cancer cannot reach them. In 2020, Tasmanian devils were released onto mainland Australia for the first time in about 3,000 years. Researchers have also noticed something hopeful. A few wild devils seem to be surviving the cancer, and their bodies may be learning to fight it off. Whether devils can beat this disease on their own is still an open question.