In the heart of Tasmania, deep in the lush forests and coastal shrublands, the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial starts its day when the stars come out to play. Led by their strong nose, Tasmanian devils spend the nighttime scavenging for food and is willing to travel over 10 miles just to find their next meal. During the daytime, Tasmanian devils can be found resting in dens in caves, hollowed out logs, and even abandoned wombat burrows.
Similar to their marsupial relatives, kangaroos and koalas, Tasmanian devils have a pouch to keep their joeys safe. No bigger than a grain of rice at birth, baby Tasmanian devils use their little claws to clamber up to their mother’s pouch where they spend the first few months of their lives growing strong. Unlike kangaroos and koalas, the Tasmanian devil’s pouch opens at the bottom rather than the top to keep the joeys safe while traveling through the forest terrain.
Once native throughout the Australian continent, the Tasmanian devil can now only be found on the island of Tasmania, finding shelter in caves, bushes, and hollow logs. The largest threats towards Tasmanian devil populations include habitat loss, human interference, and disease. To further Tasmanian devil conservation efforts, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo partners with the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, featured at the Kids for Nature Kiosk just inside the entrance of the Zoo. This program focuses on sustaining the endangered Tasmanian devil populations on the island of Tasmania.
