Is there really Tasmanian devils in Tasmania?

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Liam, Vote Hillary 08

Yes.

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=tasmanian+devil+in+tasmania&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

theres a link for pics.

Description
Click upon the movie to view (4.2Mb)
The world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, the devil has a thick-set, squat build, with a relatively large, broad head and short, thick tail. The fur is mostly or wholly black, but white markings often occur on the rump and chest. Body size also varies greatly, depending on the diet and habitat. Adult males are usually larger than adult females. Large males weigh up to 12 kg, and stand about 30 cm high at the shoulder.

Distribution
Devils once occurred on mainland Australia, with fossils having been found widely. Today, however the devil is only found in Tasmania. It is believed the devil became extinct on the mainland some 600 years ago -- before European settlement of the continent. The dingo, which was brought into Australia by Aboriginal people, is believed to have ousted the devil from the mainland.

Today, devils are found in some north, east and central districts where some farming practices (e.g. rangeland sheep grazing) provide much carrion. Tasmanian devils may be seen in many rural and wilderness areas by slowly driving at night along secondary roads. Devils may be seen at the Narawntapu National Park, Mt. William National Park, Cradle Mt. National Park, the Arthur River and highland lakes area. Look for them a few hour hours after sunset.

Habitat
Devils are widespread in Tasmania from the coast to the mountains. They live in coastal heath, open dry sclerophyll forest, and mixed sclerophyll-rainforest -- in fact, almost anywhere they can hide and find shelter by day, and find food at night.

Breeding
Devils usually mate in March, and the young are born in April. Gestation is 21 days. More young are born than can be accommodated in the mother's backward-opening pouch, which has 4 teats. Although 4 pouch young sometimes survive, the average number is 2 or 3. Each young, firmly attached to a teat, is carried in the pouch for about 4 months. After this time the young start venturing out of the pouch and are then left in a simple den - often a hollow log. Young are weaned at 5 or 6 months of age, and are thought to have left the mother and be living alone in the bush by late December. They probably start breeding at the end of their second year. Longevity is up to 7-8 years

Diet
The devil is mainly a scavenger and feeds on whatever is available. Powerful jaws and teeth enable it to completely devour its prey -- bones, fur and all. Wallabies, and various small mammals and birds, are eaten -- either as carrion or prey. Reptiles, amphibians, insects and even sea squirts have been found in the stomachs of wild devils. Carcasses of sheep and cattle provide food in farming areas. Devils maintain bush and farm hygiene by cleaning up carcasses. This can help reduce the risk of blowfly strike to sheep by removing food for maggots.

Devils are famous for their rowdy communal feeding at carcasses -- the noise and displays being used to establish dominance amongst the pack.

Behaviour
Tasmanian devils are nocturnal scavengers
The devil is nocturnal (active after dark). During the day it usually hides in a den, or dense bush. It roams considerable distances --up to 16 km -- along well-defined trails in search of food. It usually ambles slowly with a characteristic gait but can gallop quickly with both hind feet together. Young devils are more agile however and can climb trees. Although not territorial, devils have a home range.

The famous gape or yawn of the devil that looks so threatening, can be misleading. This display is performed more from fear and uncertainty than from aggression. Devils produce a strong odour when under stress, but when calm and relaxed they are not smelly. The devil makes a variety of fierce noises, from harsh coughs and snarls to high pitched screeches. A sharp sneeze is used as a challenge to other devils, and frequently comes before a fight. Many of these spectacular behaviours are bluff and part of a ritual to minimise harmful fighting when feeding communally at a large carcass.

Status
Devils were a nuisance to the early European settlers of Hobart Town, raiding the poultry yards, but were soon driven away to more remote areas of the island. In 1830 the Van Diemen's Land Co. introduced a bounty scheme to remove devils, as well as Tasmanian tigers and wild dogs, from their northwest properties: 2/6 (25 cents) for male devils and 3/6 (35 cents) for females. Devils ate animals caught in snares, and were believed to take lambs and sheep. For over a century they were trapped and poisoned and became very rare. They seemed, like the Tasmanian tiger, to be headed for extinction. Despite this the Tasmanian devil was not protected by law until June 1941. After this the population gradually increased and the Tasmanian devil was chosen as the symbol of the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Tasmanian devils are wholly protected. The Devil Facial Tumour Disease, which is now having a devastating effect on the Tasmanian devil population was first noticed in the north-east of Tasmania in the mid-1990s but has become more prevalent in recent times in other areas of the State. The Tasmanian devil is now listed as vulnerable in Tasmania.

peter g

Yes there are. Tasmanian TIGERS are extinct. Tassie devils are still around. They look like a cross between a cat and a wombat. They are called tassie devils 'cause they are very agressive and have a very very strong bite which makes them kinda devilish i suppose.

Evilest_Wendy

Yes.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1050

msbalisong

absolutely! but, of course, they don't look like the cartoons...yes, tasmanian devils are native to tasmania. they are vicious little mammals.

VOTE YES ON 3 IN MASSACHUSETTS

yes, they are a kind of animal.........google it

Dean

yeah

â™¥mary dâ™¥

they are probably natives from there.

kadmarco

Yes but they live in Australia. here:

http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/wildlife/mammals/devil.html

they're REALLY annoying.

caroline

yeah this is what they look like:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Tasdevil_large.jpg/250px-Tasdevil_large.jpg

bored to death

Yes there is. But they will soon be extinct because there is some disease that is spreading like crazy and it kills them really quickly.
so there arn't many left now
but there definetly are some.

Paige M

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_Devil

Yes there is. And they are actually endagered

liz down under

Yes there are. Unfortunately there is a facial tumour virus sweeping through the population (which is easily passed on when they fight each other). More than half their numbers are infected and will die soon. There is a mad scramble here at the moment to isolate the disease free ones. There is a lot of research going into trying to find a vaccine or cure also.

The Tasmanian tiger is extinct (last known live speciment died in a zoo in the 1930's).

Marsh

Yes there are. And no, they are not extinct.

CynSationz

There is good evidence that a population of Tasmanian devils still exists

velcropap

yes, they look like a weird cat.

enjoylife

yes

silkin_storm

Tassy Devils are alive & all tho endangered are still around.

What is thought to be extinct because we have not come across any evidence of them in decades is the Tasmanian tiger, a canine with striped coat.

Yes there is.
I have touched one in a Tassie Devil Park. They are a very different animal.
Although I haven't actually seen an alive wild tassie devil, I have seen road kill whilst driving around the state of Tassie.

tuppenybitz

of course there are,they are not a fantasy

a little bit of info,they are officially smellier than a skunk in fact they are the smelliest critter in the world

pomegranatepants

Absolutely!

Agnes

a tasmanian devil is a creature that can be found in the australian state of tasmania... not a boogey man or an actual devil!

it is a carnivorous animal but is very cute to look at :)

Ken E

The Cosmos Magazine link is the one. Go with it.