Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial native to the Australian island of Tasmania and the largest surviving member of its kind. It is mainly a scavenger but also hunts small animals. Devil facial tumour disease has caused serious population impacts, and the species is protected and listed as endangered under Australian and Tasmanian laws.
Identity and range
The Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, is a stocky marsupial with dark fur, a broad head and often white markings on its chest or rump. It is the world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial. Today it occurs across Tasmania, from coastal areas to the island's mountains, using habitats that include heathland, dry eucalypt forest and mixed forest. Fossil evidence shows that devils once lived on mainland Australia too; they disappeared there thousands of years before European settlement. The precise timing is inferred from fossil remains.
Feeding and behaviour
Devils are mostly nocturnal and spend daylight hours sheltering in dens or dense vegetation. They are chiefly scavengers, consuming animal carcasses, but can also prey on wallabies and smaller mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Their strong jaws allow them to eat much of a carcass, including bone and fur. Several devils may feed together; the loud calls and threatening-looking displays around food are part of their social behaviour and do not necessarily mean an animal is attacking. Females give birth to very small young after a short pregnancy and raise them in a pouch before they shelter in a den.
Disease and conservation
Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is a transmissible cancer marked by tumours, often on the face and mouth. Tumour cells can pass between devils, commonly when they bite one another. Researchers first detected the disease in wild populations in the 1990s; field studies subsequently documented severe declines and changes in breeding patterns in affected populations. The disease is an important conservation challenge, but it is not the only pressure on the species: road mortality and habitat conditions also matter. Tasmania and the Australian Government established the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program in 2003 as an official response to the threat. The devil is protected and listed as endangered under both Tasmanian and Australian national threatened-species legislation.
Key facts
- Scientific name
- Sarcophilus harrisii
- Range
- Native to Tasmania; fossil evidence records an earlier presence on mainland Australia.
- Ecological role
- An opportunistic carnivore that mainly scavenges but also hunts smaller animals.
- Conservation status
- Listed as endangered under Tasmanian and Australian national threatened-species legislation.
- Major disease threat
- Devil facial tumour disease is a transmissible cancer that can spread through biting.
Timeline
1941
Tasmanian devils received legal protection in Tasmania.
1996
Devil facial tumour disease was detected in wild Tasmanian devil populations.
2003
The Australian and Tasmanian governments established the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program in response to the disease threat.
2008–2009
The species was listed as endangered under Tasmanian and Australian national threatened-species laws.
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Answers use only “Tasmanian Devil” and its references, with citations.
References
- 1.Tasmanian Devil
The Australian Museum · other · reliability: high · retrieved 21 October 2026
Supports: Species identification, habitat, diet, behaviour, reproduction, fossil range and conservation status.
- 2.Tasmanian Devil
Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania · other · reliability: high · retrieved 21 October 2026
Supports: Official state account of the species' biology, mainland history, habitats, legal protection and threatened status.
- 3.Life-history change in disease-ravaged Tasmanian devil populations
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (via PubMed Central) · other · reliability: high · retrieved 21 October 2026
Supports: Peer-reviewed field study of the effects of devil facial tumour disease on survival, population age structure and breeding in affected populations.
- 4.Save the Tasmanian Devil Program
Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania · other · reliability: high · retrieved 21 October 2026
Supports: The program's establishment in 2003, its conservation purpose and its response to devil facial tumour disease.
References are suggested by the research engine and may be incomplete. Unverified URLs are omitted rather than guessed.
Article history
- Version 121 October 2026 · EditorCreated by Zapia