Shift Happens: A Devil of a Day

A few kilometers north of the east coast seaside town of Bicheno is Natureworld.

Hosting a wide variety of wildlife found in Tasmania and Australia, Natureworld also has a dedicated rescue and breeding program for Tasmanian Devils. Over 90% of the devils in the Tasmanian wild were wiped out by a terrible viral cancer that is spread through saliva and causes death within months. There is no cure for this cancer and it is running rampant through the species. Predictions are that, by the end of 2011, the iconic devil will be extinct in the wild. There are several programs thoughout Tassie that are dedicated to trying to save these animals and Natureworld is one such place.

The park is empty save for us and a keeper and we arrive just in time to catch the feeding of the devils. The keeper informs us that the devils we are going to see are all female and in the process of breeding, have been off their food. Lucky for us, they turn out to be a hungry lot this day!

Some things that we learn about Tasmanian Devils:

*Devils can jump almost 3 meters high
*Devils are nocturnal and so cannot see very well (only in black and white). They can, however, smell food up to 7 km away!
*They are terrible hunters and more likely to scavenge for food (being hit by cars while trying to scavenge road kill is another problem for the population)
*Devils back into their food (in case there is another devil there already - it is much less trouble getting bitten or scratched on the bum than it is on the face!)
*They have jaws strong enough to crush through bone.
*A female will have up to 20 babies but only 4 (max) will survive as she only has 4 teats.
*The gestation period for baby devils is 16 days.
*Devils in the wild tend to have a maximum life expectancy of five or six years (this is doubled in captivity)
*They have the same set of teeth for their whole lives (by the end of their life the teeth can be quite ground down)
*Devils have lovely fur when they are young (fighting, breeding and old age cause them to loose their fur in patches)
*They all have different markings on their fur. Very few are entirely black.

Natureworld also has a large "mainland island" hidden at the back of the property that is off limits to the public where about 15 devils are being kept. Carcasses are thrown in a few times a week and the devils are left to do what they would do in the wild. These devils are still nocturnal and highly territorial. The idea is that, should the wild population be wiped out entirely, these still-wild-but-disease-free-devils (there are several programs like this around the country) can then be re-released.

Other highlights in Natureworld included the largest collection of Tiger snakes (yikes!), eagles, Tassie barn owls, kangaroos, wallabies (Bennets and Rufus), pademelons, wombats, a koala (not indigenous to Tasmania), a wide variety of birds (including the kookaburra) and a few other farmyard creatures. All the animals in Natureworld have been rescued — from one kind of accident or another — and rehabilitated. All the animals here however can no longer live in the wild on their own.

Before visiting Natureworld, we wrap up our visit to Freycinet Park where we stop off at Cape Tourville for a little walk about soaking up the views of the vast Tasman Sea and Wineglass Bay (from afar!).