Cross Breeds

Sometimes residents of Tasmania still think of devils and their

Summary: Sometimes residents of Tasmania still think of devils and their cousins the quolls pictured at right as but this is because their numbers increase each summer when the young leave their mothers to live on their own However only about 40 percent will survive the first few months because of for food so the dramatic increase in numbers happens only once a year Most farmers now appreciate devils for their ability to keep down the mice population which eats crops However devils face a new challenge disease An illness called Devil Facial Tumor Disease has been killing adult devils in recent years The Tasmanian government has provided funding to help scientists study and treat the disease Once European settlers came to Tasmania in the late eighteenth century they considered Tasmanian devils and Tasmanian tigers to be nuisances and pests because they hunted and ate animals snared in traps By the 1830s bounties were placed on the animals until they neared So in spite of its early bad reputation it s clear that the Tasmanian devil has made its mark on the island It was even chosen as the symbol of the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service by the turn of the century In fact the Tasmanian tiger became extinct by 1936 Devils were protected by law in 1941 giving the a chance to gradually increase The pride of Tasmania

Image Dimensions: 226 x 155