What is special about the Tasmanian devil?

Answer 1

The Tasmanian devil is important because it is a carrion-eater. This means it feeds on carcasses of dead animals, which helps keep its environment clean and free of diseases which might develop from animal bodies lying in the sun.

Answer 2

The Tasmanian devil is beyond being just a Threatened species. As of 2008, it is officially Endangered.

The Tasmanian Devil is endangered for a number of reasons, and one of them is because the farmers believed that it ate large numbers of livestock and poultry, and used to hunt it. (This is also why the Thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger died out.) Other reasons include that they are often hit by cars as they feed on other road-killed animals. Some of the Tasmanian devils have been placed in protective captivity so humans and/or other animals cannot kill or hurt them.

Devil Facial Tumour Disease is rife at present and is another reason for keeping them in captivity. DFTD causes facial lesions which increase in size until the Tasmanian devil can no longer eat, and becomes susceptible to infections. DFTD has killed more than 90% of adults in high density areas and 45% of adults in medium to low density areas. At present, no Devils are being taken into captivity with existing captive animals in the hope that the current captive ones will be kept safe from the spread of this disease. The disease spreads through biting - and this is very common in Devils as they are natural fighters, battling tooth and claw for every morsel of food. Only the western third of Tasmania is currently free of the disease. 60% of the state is affected. Currently there is no cure for the disease, and scientists estimate that unless the disease can be stopped in some way, Tasmanian Devils will be extinct within two decades. The Devils seem to be particularly vulnerable to this because of their genetic makeup: they have particularly low levels of genetic diversity and a chromosomal mutation which is unique among carnivorous mammals. It is hoped that, by studying this genetic makeup, scientists will be able to develop a vaccine and/or cure. In January 2010, scientists isolated the genetic marker for the disease, and this is a big step towards finding a cure. Also, scientists have recently reported promising results in cancer cures from a drug manufactured from a certain type of brushwood in the North Queensland tropical rainforests. This has worked successfully in trials on cancerous tumours in cats, dogs and horses, and as well as being hoped to be a potential cure in human cancers, it is also hoped to be able to be used against DFTD. 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.

As the Devil numbers decrease, fox numbers are increasing. These introduced animals hunt and eat young Devils, and if the Devil numbers drop too low then there is little hope that the population will ever recover - those remaining will be destroyed by the foxes.

Answer 3

There are several features unique to the Tasmanian devil:

• It is Australia's largest living carnivorous marsupial (dasyurid).
• It is unique for its fearsome, devil-like screeching when involved in territorial disputes.
• It can have up to twenty young in one birth, but only four can survive as it has only four teats in its pouch.
• It is found in Tasmania (Australia's island state) alone.

Answer 4

Tasmanian devils perform a very important function within their niche. They feed on carrion, which is the carcasses of dead animals, thereby cleaning up the environment. Apart from the native quoll and the introduced fox, there are no other mammal predators in Tasmania, so the Tasmanian devil is an important link in the food chain.

Further, the population of endangered animals give an idea of how healthy or unhealthy Australia's native bushland is. As populations decline, it is a warning that we are abusing our native bushland, and that certain practices (e.g. land-clearing and logging) must be changed.