What are the mating rituals of the Tasmanian devil?

Answer 1

Mating season for Tasmanian devils is in Australia's Autumn season, particularly around March-April, although it may start in February.

It is the female that chooses a male, usually one that is larger, stronger and more aggressive than the others. She will attract prospective suitors with a whining call, and she will expect the male to chase her into submission. Females tend to ignore males that do not exhibit strong dominant behaviour, although they have been observed egging on younger, inexperienced and timid males, only to turn and walk away just at the point of actual copulation.

After the male has caught the female, he drags her to his den where she submits to being bitten and scratched, apparently dropping into a very quiet, trance-like state while he mates with her. Mating may take around an hour, and the male and female are likely to mate several times over a two-day period.

Surprisingly, the male is protective, remaining with the female to watch over her as she sleeps afterwards. However, the female does not have the same loyalty. When the exhausted male finally drops off to sleep, the female sneaks out and repeats the mating ritual with another male, in order to ensure her joeys have the best chances of survival by having different fathers. She will position herself at the entrance to the den, before making a sudden escape. Often, the male will catch her very quickly and return her to the den. She is sometimes successful, and a litter of Tasmanian devil joeys may have several different fathers. Despite this, Tasmanian devils often mate for life.

The young joeys are born around 18 days later. The Tasmanian devil is a marsupial so, like most (not all) marsupials, it has a pouch to protect its joeys while they are developing. After birth, the joeys then make their way to the mother's pouch where they latch onto a teat. Competition for the teats is fierce. A female Tasmanian devil actually may have several dozen tiny embryos in one birth - anywhere between 20 and 40 - but only four at most can latch onto a teat in the mother's pouch. The rest are lost.

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