#tasmanian devils

[antiqueanimals]

Tasmanian Devil by Cuthbert Edmund Swan. From Wild Beasts of the World, Vol. Two. Written by Frank Finn, published in 1909.

Internet Archive

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[fyeahsonicthehedgehog]

[feather-bone]

Tasmanian devil! They hunt small game (birds, snakes, and mammals) and will also eat carrion - their jaws are strong enough to crush bone! Since the thylacine (or Tasmanian tiger) went extinct in 1936, the devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world. They’re named for their horrible screeching, growling, wailing sounds. Also, they are very cute. :-)

[ID: an illustration of a Tasmanian devil on a yellow background surrounded by bones. The devil is looking toward the viewer with a happy expression. The illustration is followed by a video of two devils confronting and screaming at each other. End.]

[throwupgirl-deactivated20240906]

really crazy that they call these guys the devil in english

like lions are definitely scarier

[taxonomytournament]

Taxonomy Tournament: Chordata

Dasyuromorphia. This order is made up of carnivorous marsupials, including quolls, numbats, and the Tasmanian devil.

Urodela. This order is made up of amphibians that have a tail, such as newts and salamanders, including the axolotl.

Which clade of animals is better?

Dasyuromorphia

Urodela

Show results

Voting ended onApr 20, 2024

[chameleon3]

okay i love the instrumentation and musicality of devil town by cavetown so much but literally the only thing i can think of when i hear it is tasmania

reasons as to why devil town is tasmania

"devil town is colder in the summertime" tasmania is in the southern hemisphere, meaning it experiences warmer temperatures in the winter and colder in the summer

"devil town" tasmanian devils literally only exist in tasmania. like tasmania is the only place they are currently native

"spiders in our favorite shoes" spiders are notoriously common in australia

[rjzimmerman]

Speak of the Devils: The Animals We Fear the Most Are Fading Away • The Revelator

When we fear something, it becomes psychologically easier to withhold empathy for it or, worse, kill it. Nobody feels sorry for the devil.

Excerpt from this story from The Revelator:

Consider the Tasmanian devil, so named for the blood-curdling screams this tiny creature makes at night. Tasmanian devils were once common across not only Tasmania but mainland Australia, numbering as many as 140,000. But they were hunted by European colonists both for food and because they were viewed as predators of sheep. Today it’s estimated that there are as few as 20,000 left, and the only devils on the mainland live in zoos. In 1941 devils became a protected species, though they are still frequently killed at night by passing cars. And if that’s not bad enough, they are now suffering from a contagious facial tumor disease that’s almost always fatal.

Having met a few devils at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania, I can report that these supposedly fearsome creatures are cute as lapdogs, with the body of a terrier and the face of a bear cub. How tragic that they were given “devil” for a name. They would have fared better had “terrier” been used instead.

Names matter. When we fear something, it becomes psychologically easier to withhold empathy for it — or worse, kill it. Nobody feels sorry for a devil.

There are “devils” in the ocean, too, known as devil rays (or manta rays). They are also in grave danger, due largely to worldwide overfishing.

And then there are the other pelagic species we have been taught to fear, such as sharks. Swimming in the ocean is statistically less dangerous than driving to the neighborhood Costco.  Nevertheless, thanks in part to Peter Benchley (author of Jaws) and, of course, Steven Spielberg — both of whom later regretted the harm done to sharks by their mythmaking — sharks are viewed as ruthless and reckless predators, far more intent on killing humans than fish. This is not true.

But truth is not what got us to this point in history. I worry for any species with a “devil,” “ghost,” or “hellbender” in its name. I worry for all predators, the wolves and bears and lions and tigers.

Perhaps if media stopped publicizing every bear or shark encounter as an “attack,” people would be less inclined toward fear. Perhaps if more Americans ventured into the woods and learned firsthand that that there is nothing to fear there, maybe then we as a society would turn our fear of animals into a fear of losing what animals we have left.

Even Dorothy, deep in those woods, had little to fear of that cowardly lion. The only true threat was of the make-believe sort: flying monkeys. Oz author L. Frank Baum knew what everyone should now know: that when we step into the dark woods, the most fearsome predator we are likely encounter is us.