Happy Monday everybody!  Some of you know that I will be away on a meeting this week in British Columbia.  Don’t worry, I worked hard over the weekend to ensure that you will still get your daily dose of Wild Facts this week.  I may be a little slow on responding to comments but please continue to leave them and I will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible.

All right, onto today’s fact! Maybe you liked Tweety Bird or Bugs Bunny but one of my favourite Bug’s Bunny characters was Taz.  Of course Taz was the loud, angry, spinning tasmanian devil.  In real life the tasmanian devil doesn’t spin in circles (although how cool would it be if that was how they traveled) but they do tend to be aggressive and loud while feeding.  As well, tasmanian devils are marsupials, so similar to a kangaroo they will place their young in a pouch until they fully develop.

So what do these crazy animals feed on? Well, they tend to be opportunistic and feed on carrion (dead animals) but will also hunt wombats and can even take down small kangaroos. They are nocturnal animals that will generally hunt during dusk and dawn. Although, the devil hunts alone they will feed with other devils, which generally leads to fighting and very loud noises as they use this form of communication to dictate the feeding order.  They use their long whiskers on their face and head to help them locate their prey when hunting at night as well it helps them know where the other devils are when feeding. Tasmanian devils have excellent hearing and a great sense of smell, which obviously helps them hunt in the dark. Even though they hunt at night, the devil can still rely on its eye sight to locate prey.  They have excellent black and white vision which allows them see moving prey; however, they will have a tough time identifying stationary objects.  So if you are being hunted by a tasmanian devil at night, be sure to stand still! I don’t know if this will protect you so don’t rely on this technique, besides I find knocking your friend down and running to work much better!

Although, these creatures are incredible and very unique their population numbers are dwindling.  In the wild they are only found in Australia on the island of Tasmania.  They are listed as endangered and due to a disease called devil facial tumour disease they are in jeopardy of becoming extinct. With any luck the Government’s programs will be able to help reduce this disease in time to save the tasmanian devil.

Tasmanian Devil Fast Fact: A study observing mammalian bite force relative to its body size has indicated that the tasmanian devil has the strongest bite of any living mammal.  Yes, even greater than a grizzly or a lion!

I hope you enjoyed today’s fact!