Do Tasmanian devils stay with their mates?

Answer 1

Yes and no.

Tasmanian devil females are promiscuous. Tasmanian devils find a partner based on their strength. The female ignores timid and docile males (except, sometimes, as a practice run) and chooses a strong, dominant male that bites and scratches her. She has a gentle whining call, and after issuing it, she expects the male to chase her. After chasing and catching her, the male brings her to his den, continuing to bite and scratch her into submission. When she is satisfied with his dominance, she falls into a trance-like state while he mates with her. Afterward, the male remains with the female to watch over her. However, when the exhausted male finally drops off to sleep, the female will wait at the entrance to the den, before making a dash for freedom. Often, the male will catch her very quickly and bring her back to the den.

The reason that the female tries to run away is that she wants to ensure a strong gene pool among her joeys, so her instincts are to try and mate with as many different makes as possible. She is sometimes successful, and a litter of Tasmanian devil joeys may have several different fathers. Strangely, despite her promiscuous behaviour, Tasmanian devils often mate for life.