Tasmanian Devils

No. Tasmanian devils and echidnas are two different animals. Tasmanian devils are carnivorous marsupials which give birth to live young and raise their young in a pouch. They have black fur with white markings, and strong jaws.

Echidnas are insectivorous monotremes (monotremes are egg-laying mammals), which also raise their single young in a rudimentary pouch formed by a flap of skin. They have sharp spines, but they have no teeth.

Tasmanian devils' breeding season lasts from March to May. Female devils will mate with dominant males, who fight to gain their attention. Three weeks after conception, the females give birth to up to 50 babies, called joeys. These 50 extremely tiny joeys scramble to attach themselves to one of the four available teats in the mother's pouch. Those that do not make it will not survive.The remaining joeys will attach to the nipple in the pouch for roughly 3 months while they become fully developed. Like the wombat, the Tasmanian devil has a pouch that opens on the bottom to keep dirt out while traveling.After the joeys leave their mother's pouch, they remain hidden in the den for another 3 months. During this time the mother brings food to the young, and eventually the young devils begin venturing out on their own before finally leaving the den for good. They can live for up to 5 years in the wild.

Tasmanian devil conservation park is helping along with another, save the Tasmanian devil program.

Further information:

Scientists are breeding Tasmanian Devils in captivity to limit the spread of the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). This disease is a great threat to Tasmanian devils living in the wild, affecting some two-thirds of the population. The Australian Government now has initiatives and programs set up to preserve the species. Tasmanian devils are being housed in captive breeding programmes, which should prevent the extinction of the marsupial, but not necessarily in the wild. In January 2010, a team of international scientists pinpointed the genetic marker that predisposes Tasmanian devils towards this fatal disease. With this knowledge, there is now a better chance of a cure, which would also stop the disease decimating the wild Tasmanian devil population.

Actual organisations involved in helping this creature are:
Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors
Mark Webber Foundation
University of Tasmania
The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment in Tasmania
CSIRO

Tasmanian Devils are the only members of their Genus, which means they have no close relatives. They are, of course, distantly related to other marsupials and, since marsupials are technically mammals, even more distantly related to the rest of us. == ==

A Tasmanian devil can eat about 15% of its body weight a day, but it will eat up to 40% of its body weight in 30 minutes if the chance arises.

Tasmanian devils have 42 teeth. These teeth keep growing, and are not replaced during a Tasmanian devil's lifespan, so this marsupial has just one set of teeth through its lifetime. However, the teeth do wear down, and by about 5 years old, the degeneration of the teeth can impact upon the Tasmanian devil's ability to hunt and compete with others for food.

They may be dangerous when provoked and can cause bites and wounds to an adult human but are not critically dangerous. They are mostly scavengers and do not attack prey that is larger than young Kangaroos.

Tasmanian devils, despite their reputation, are actually timid and shy creatures which would rather hide from people than confront them. They never attack people, but will certainly defend themselves, and they have exceptionally powerful jaws.

Tasmanian devils feed on carrion (the remains of dead animals) as well as live prey. In this way, they help to clean up the environment. A scavenger is an animal that is an opportunistic feeder, taking the opportunity to feed on any meat that comes its way, dead or alive.

The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) was hunted almost to extinction due to its threat to livestock such as sheep and poultry. They were protected by law before it was too late in June 1941 from where their numbers recovered sufficiently for them to be classified as "secure". During the 1990s, they were listed as "vulnerable". More recently, they are threatened by a fatal form of cancer called "Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD)" which has killed more than 90% of adults in high density areas and 45% of adults in medium to low density areas. The Threatened Species Scientific Advisory Committee recommended moving the Tasmanian Devil up the "Endangered Species" list. It was officially listed as "endangered" in May 2008. A number of groups have combined to fund, study, analyse and come up with a cure for DFTD. You can find out more about it or assist by going to the attached Web Page and selecting one of the options.

Tasmanian devils have dozens of tiny bumps on the rather large pads of their feet which appear to act as gripping pads. The friction created by the pads gives them better contact with surfaces for running. It gives the animal better speed and agility when in pursuit of prey.

Younger, lighter Tasmanian devils use the pads to help them climb, but they are not arboreal (tree-dwelling) creatures. It is believed that, because young devils are sometimes prey of larger ones, climbing trees helps them to escape.

A number of people have named the monolith we now know as Devil's tower. The name it currently has was given in 1875 when the interpreter from Colonel Richard Irving Dodge's expedition misinterpreted native names for the landform as "Bad God's Tower." This became Devils Tower.

Since the time of European settlement in Australia, Tasmanian Devils have only been known to live in Tasmania, the island state of Australia located off the southeast coast of the continent.

No. Although both carnivorous mammals, this is where the similarity between Tasmanian devils and dingoes stops.

Tasmanian devils are marsupials, with a pouch in which they rear their young.

Dingoes are relative "newcomers" to Australia, and placental mammals.

Tasmanian devils are found only on the Australian island of Tasmania. The mother teaches her young by example, taking them with her on hunting expeditions. They often ride on her back for these outings. The father is not involved in the raising of the young.

Tasmanian devils do not harm humans in any way.

The Tasmanian devil performs the useful function of helping to keep the environment clean by eating carrion (dead animals). This limits the prevalence of flies and the possibility of diseases resulting from decaying flesh of other animals.

From about 1996, the Tasmanian Devil has been threatened by a fatal form of cancer called "Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD)" which has killed more than 90% of adults in high density areas and 45% of adults in medium to low density areas resulting in an "Endangered" classification. Since then, the Threatened Species Scientific Advisory Committee has recommended moving the Tasmanian Devil up the "Endangered Species" list. A number of groups have combined to fund, study, analyse and come up with a cure for DFTD. You can find out more about it or assist by going to the attached Web Page and selecting one of the options.

Tasmanian devils breathe in the same way that humans do. The air travels through the mouth/nose, down the trachea, through the bronchi, through the bronchioles, and into the alveoli, which make up the lungs. In the alveoli, some of the oxygen in the air that was breathed in is given to the blood stream, and the air gains the carbon dioxide that the blood stream wants to get rid of. The new air travels backwards through the places that I wrote above and is breathed out the mouth.

When first born, Tasmanian devils are just the size of a bean, less than 2cm in length. They are pink, hairless, blind and completely unable to survive unless they are attached to one of the mother's teats inside the pouch.

Yes: a Tasmanian devil has a tail almost half the length of its body. For example, female Tasmanian devils have an average head and body length of 57 cm, with a tail of around 24.5 cm in length.

The Tasmanian Devil has an average body length of 55 - 90 cm (22 - 35 inches), which includes its short tail. Females are smaller, and do not usually exceed 80cm in length. Its height is only around 30 cm.