Tasmanian Devils

We went to a Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary for an after dark feeding tour where we saw the devils devour a wallabee carcass and learned all about the creatures and DFTD (Devil Facial Tumour Disease), a fatal condition that is plaguing the devils and may lead to their extinction. DFTD is characterized by cankerous tumors on the face of a devil (around the jaws), it is directly transmissible from devil to devil. We were both pretty disgusted by the photographs of devils with this disease. Tasmanian Devils are carnivorous marsupials and are the size of a small dog, they weigh anywhere from 15 to 22 pounds. They're black in color and have asymmetrical white markings on the base of their tails, flank and chest. Some devils don’t have the markings; of the devils with markings, not two are alike. It’s easy to understand why the early European settlers called this animal The Devil. Its screeches are really loud and can be described as spine-chilling, they have large heads and very powerful jaws, they look incredibly fierce with their jaws agape. Devils are gorge eaters, they can eat something like 40% of their body weight in minutes and eat until they’ve had their fill. It was really impressive to listen to the vocalizations they can make and watch them socialize. The devils devoured the wallabee carcass really quickly and consumed all parts of it, the fur, even the bones. When they were finished eating, the handler picked one up so we could see one up close. It actually looked really cute in the handler's arms and its fur felt no different than patting a wet dog (it was wet because of the rain).
*Tasmanian devil photo is from Devils@Cradle website.