Tasmanian Devil Babies - Tasmania

During June and July the female Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus harrisii ) aren't very active and finding them can be difficult.  The reason for their slumber is that most are heavily pregnant or have given birth to young.  Amazingly up to 50 young can be born and the joeys must race a distance of about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) from the birth canal to the mother’s rear-facing pouch, where they compete to attach themselves to one of only four available teats. Only those four will then have a chance to grow and survive.

LEFT:  A female Tasmania Devil ((Sarcophilus harrisii) rests on her back revealing three large joeys.

August is the time when the devils are beginning to develop fur and their eyes are opening; for the most part the joeys are still attached to the teats.  At this stage of development, the youngsters are growing rapidly and depending upon the number of young in the pouch, it maybe difficult for the mother devil to accommodate them all.  The mother devil will scavenge and hunt prey during this time while carrying the babies in the rear-facing pouch attached to her nipples.

LEFT:  A large heathy male devil baby, guard hairs reflecting in the sun, suckles. 

During this time, mother devils attempt to keep beneath the radar as much as possible, as protecting their infants is their prime responsibility and concern.  Other devils (male and female) but particularly male devils may try and kill the youngsters The reasons for this are varied but include :protecting food resources (less food to share), reducing rival male devil's DNA by killing the rival's young, and causing the female to become receptive again.

When the young finally are too large, they emerge from the pouch and often ride on their mother’s back, like young koalas or possums, or are dragged along underneath her, still attached to her nipples. After about six months, the young are weaned, leaving the mother to live alone in the bush by late December until the following march when courtship and mating begins again.

To read more articles concerning Tasmanian devils.

• Hunting Wild Devils in the Night
• March is Breeding Time for Tasmanian Devils
• Shadowing the Devil Task Force

March is Breeding Time for Tasmanian Devils

Many of you know that I spend quite a bit of time seeking out Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) attempting to gain suitable photographs of nocturnal devils for the Devil Task Force, the branch of the Tasmania Government assigned with the task of protecting and conserving the devil.

Whilst there is never a perfect photograph, my collection of devil photographs is slowing increasing as I spend many of my evenings in the field.  I thought I’d quickly share with you one of the latest images of a night-time devil.

One aspect which is a little different is the rear leg held upright with the pad exposed. At the time when I took the photograph I didn't notice this.

ABOVE:  Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).  The yawn or open mouth is NOT an aggressive threat posture, but a warning signal that either I or another devil is getting too close - it's a way for the animal to communicate “keep your distance” without entering into an actual fight. 

At some stage, I'll write a post outlining how I photograph the devils at night.  It isn't as straight forward as you may think and it's taken considerable time to perfect my technique using multiple flash units.

Breeding Season

At the moment the devils are a little skittish as we are entering into the mating season.  Many sexually mature female devils are deep within the confines of a den involved in other nocturnal affairs.  During the breeding season, males will fight over females in an attempt to gain individual mating rights, and in an attempt to ensure their mate’s infidelity (and maintain his genetic line), keep their chosen female in custody within the den.   Often you will observe a male devil literally dragging a female along with him as he leaves the den to drink or eat.  Copulation is not a “do and run” deed with devils and often can take five days to complete.  The reason for this lengthy period of time is that the female  devil ovulates up to three times in a 21 day period.    Devils are not monogamous and females may mate with several males if left unprotected, fighting off younger “lesser” males in an attempt to only allow the stronger male to reproduce with her.

Time is Always lacking...

It seems there’s always a shortage of time for everybody these days and unfortunately I’m not an exception; not as many images as I’d like to, get uploaded to the website or to stock.

To read more on the Tasmanian Devil - read my earlier post.