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There's a few Tasmanian devil misconceptions to clear up from press earlier this week, so lets do it for #DevilFactThursDay!
1) Are Tasmanian devils are extinct in the wild?
Absolutely not! Devils have suffered large declines (90% in some local populations) from a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease, but it has not driven them to extinction (nor is it likely to - https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47659640)
Absolutely not! Devils have suffered large declines (90% in some local populations) from a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease, but it has not driven them to extinction (nor is it likely to - https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47659640)
2) But devils used to occur on mainland Australia?
True! There were devils roaming mainland Australia as recently as ~3000 yrs ago. Their disappearance on the mainland is thought to have been driven by a combination of changing climate & the arrival of dingoes
#DevilFactThursDay
True! There were devils roaming mainland Australia as recently as ~3000 yrs ago. Their disappearance on the mainland is thought to have been driven by a combination of changing climate & the arrival of dingoes
#DevilFactThursDay
3) Tasmanian devils are apex predators?
Open to interpretation, but definitely strong wording. Devils are the top of the food chain in Tassie (after we lost the thylacine), but they're mainly scavengers. They can certainly hunt, but they're not going to be running down kangaroos
Open to interpretation, but definitely strong wording. Devils are the top of the food chain in Tassie (after we lost the thylacine), but they're mainly scavengers. They can certainly hunt, but they're not going to be running down kangaroos
4) Tasmanian devils eat feral cats!?
Again, a bit of stretch. We know that devils have a suppressive effect on feral cats, which can have +ve impacts for smaller animals like bandicoots. This is likely a result of cats avoiding devils as opposed to devils directly eating cats
Again, a bit of stretch. We know that devils have a suppressive effect on feral cats, which can have +ve impacts for smaller animals like bandicoots. This is likely a result of cats avoiding devils as opposed to devils directly eating cats
