Free Tasmanian Devil by David Owen Page A

tenaciously to the teats within the pouch. They also made slight squeaking noises and with increasing bulk the hind quarters of one quadruplet projected from the pouch as the mother moved about.
    Meanwhile she had become somewhat fastidious for a Devil, disdaining raw meat but delighting in rats, birds, eggs, frogs and rabbit heads. Towards the middle of August a great change came over the appearance of the youngsters as the ear tips and then other regions of the skin began to show dark pigment. The pouch too, developing with the family, was far more relaxed and roomy. At eleven weeks the dark pigment of the young had become sufficiently pronounced to throw into strong contrast the future white chest and rump markings. The quiet nervous mother accepted the frequent handling with no sign of resentment. Progress of the little Devils was now quite phenomenal and on October 1st at fifteen weeks of age they first released their till then continuous grip on the teats. They were well furred and their eyes had opened. From these observations it is obvious that the mother must carry her cumbersome family with her for at least fifteen weeks after their birth. But from this time on the youngsters may be left at home in the nest, allowing the mother the freedom necessary for successful ‘scrounging’.
    When lifted away from the parent the youngsters uttered anxious yapping cries and on being released again clung quickly to the fur of her sides with teeth and fingers—the fore-paws having unusual grasping powers so that the young Devils are expert climbers. On being disturbed from sleep when sheltered by the mother’s body, the little fellows lost no time in gripping her extended teats, from which it was almost impossible to dislodge them until firm pressure with a fingertip over the nostrils caused their mouths to open. At the age of eighteen weeks the ‘play age’ was apparent . . . At twenty weeks they were seven and three quarter inches in body length with small tails adding a further three inches. They still clung tenaciously to the mother’s teats when drinking . . . It was five months before they ceased to rely on their mother’s milk for nourishment and unfortunately we lost two of them before they had abandoned the maternal apron strings. One squeezed through the chain netting of the enclosure and was never heard of again while the other sickened and died. The mother and remaining two youngsters showed the thorough scavenging traits of their kind by immediately devouring the whole carcass, except the head, of their deceased relative even though food was plentiful. 2
    Devils are weaned in summer, between December and February, after which they disperse widely, but with a higher proportion of females remaining in the natal areas. Up to 60 per cent die before reaching maturity, according to Guiler. Even so, the sudden increase in numbers over summer can give the appearance of a plague, because juveniles are more crepuscularly active than adults and at dusk are regularly seen on roads, scavenging in paddocks or on beaches and around farm complexes.
    Newly weaned devils become solitary at once. They are agile foragers, taking a wide variety of small invertebrates and vertebrates, and their excellent climbing ability enables them to obtain food from trees, such as grubs, and eggs from birds’ nests. They are fully grown and mature by the age of two.
    The uniqueness of a solitary animal surviving through communal feeding sets the devil apart from other carnivores. Young devils quickly learn to congregate at the site of a carcass, drawn by the scent and, just as importantly, the vocalisations of those that have already arrived at the site. Conflict over a carcass is avoided through a ritualised behaviour ensemble.

    Young devils are agile foragers and good climbers. This picture was taken at Mrs Roberts’ Beaumaris Zoo in the early 1900s. (Courtesy Collection Tasmanian