In the evening I went to the sanctuary just to see the devil’s feed and hear them screaming.
They were named devils as when settlers first arrived they would hear these screams and chomping of bones and saw these black creatures running around. Devils…
These guys are young at about 6 months old. They have a life span of 5 years. Since especially the facial tumor disease that had claimed the life of much of the population, this sanctuary had rebreeding and re-entry program as they are endangered.
We learned about mating and reproduction, feeding behaviour, and maintaining healthy devils. These are marsupials as well and can give birth to 40 young each the size of a piece of rice. Only 4 will make it as that is how many mammary glands they have.
This video shows them playing and asserting themselves. Basically the loudest devil wins. Size doesn’t always matter.
We watched the Tasmanian devils being fed. They will be predators and hunt if need be but they are primarily scavengers. They find dead carcasses. They have the strongest jaws of any mammal and can crunch through bone giving them the calcium they need. Watch:
Eastern quolls. This is another marsupial that is not currently endangered.
They feed the same way though they are known to do from a tree down onto prey much larger than themselves. They have the second strongest bite next to the devil’s.
