Tuesday, June 19, 2012

What a Devil!

Could this be one of
Australia’s cute
and cuddly creatures? 
The Tasmanian Devil 
Hardly 


The Tassie Devil has
a devil of a temper!
It’s screams send chills
 down your back. 
It’s the world’s largest
meat loving carnivore. 
It’s size varies according
to its environment,
but they are thick,
stocky things!
Their fur is black
and some Devils have
white markings on their
chest and rump.
Males tend to weigh
up to 12kg.
They are about 30cm tall.



When the babies are born,
they attach themselves
to one of four teats
inside the pouch,
and there they stay
for about four months.
 By then, they are big enough
to start to explore
outside of their mother’s pouch.

The Tassie Devil is a scavenger
 and will eat anything
it can find, including
dead carcasses, wallabies,
small mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians and insects…
anything!
Their amazingly strong jaws
and teeth let them
crunch their way through
 skin, flesh and bones. 
Delicious!
The Tasmanian Devil
lives for about 8 years.
Something cool – or smelly:
when the devil is stressed,
it produces a strong stink.
If it wants to challenge
another devil,
it makes a sneezing noise.
 


Today is the birthday of Taz,
 the cartoon version
of our Tasmanian Devils.
He debuted in 1954.
Photos from here,
 here and here.

1 comment:

Snofrid said...

But the babies are so cute!!