Tasmanian Devil Facts      

Tasmanian Devil Facts and Tasmanian Devil Information Featuring the -AnimalStats- Fact File

Making More Tasmanian Devils

Tasmanian devils are marsupials, like kangaroos and koala bears, which means that their babies start to develop in the womb, but then move to a pouch on the mothers abdomen to continue growing. Female Tasmanian devils come into heat in springtime and the month long mating season is filled with lots of extreme activity. Males battle each other viscously for the attention of mature females but it does not end there. Once the most powerful male sends weaker competition fleeing, he must prove his worth to his sweetheart. The mating pair will engage in loud, highly aggressive wrestling sessions and if the female is not impressed she will move on to another fellow. If the male is powerful and dominant enough the two will mate several times over the course of a few days. Both males and females may mate with numerous partners during the season and it is actually possible for one litter of babies to have two, three, or even four different fathers. After about three weeks of pregnancy the female Tasmanian devil finds a comfortable den and settles in. She will give birth to as many as 30 tiny babies that are blind, hairless, and less than the size of a single grain of rice. They are effectively still just embryos, and must make it to the mothers pouch in order to continue development. Without their mothers help, an army of squirming babies crawl through a forest of belly-hair from the birth canal to the mothers pouch which is a distance of about 4 inches (a long trip for a grain of rice). In a true example of "survival of the fittest" the baby Tasmanian devils find only four teats in the mothers pouch. The four that make it to a teat first survive, the rest perish. Four months later the tough little devils emerge from moms pouch and explore their world. The sound of a litter of devils play fighting is blood-curdling and constant, and by the time they are eight months old, they start off on their own, complaining the whole way.         - Tasmanian Devil Facts

Tasmanian devils are known for their fieceness but they will often use a few clever techniques first before resorting to full out combat. When a dispute finds two devils face to face their skin will flush red turning the ears crimson. They will gape their impressive jaws at each other, screaming and growling the whole time. If the situation is stressful enough the devil will release a musky odor that would clear most rooms. Finally, they will emit a stacatto sneeze that is sometimes so violent they loose their footing. If all else fails, its time to rumble and most devils have the scars to prove it.

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