The term Tasmanian Devil brings two distinct images to mind. For me, a typical American, the Tasmanian Devil is a cartoon character, a raving lunatic with a huge mouth that travels in a tornado at high speed consuming everything in it’s path including mountains, cars, bombs, but NEVER rabbits. This cartoon character, brought to life by Warner Brothers animation studios, was based loosely upon a carnivorous mammal indigenous to Australia which is known for its ravenous appetite and wild fits of furry.
Click on the images below to view some Tasmanian Devil Pictures.
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Phylum: Catchabirdimus
Class: Bumblingfoolia
Order: Ravenous
Family: Eatitupious
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Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Dasyuromorphia
Family: Dasyuridae
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The real Tasmanian Devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, is not all that different than the Warner Bros. cartoon character. A carnivorous marsupial found exclusively on the island of Tasmania, the Tasmanian devil is the size of a small dog but stockier and more muscular. Unlike it’s brown colored TV characterization the real Taz has black fur. Other “features” include an offensive smell when intimidated, loud and disturbing screeching, and of course the vicious temperament.
Although Tasmanian Devils are difficult to see, most visitors to the Tasmanian bush stand a very good chance of hearing them. Their noisy communal eating can often be heard several kilometers away. Tasmanian Devils will eliminate all traces of a carcass as they devour all bones and fur in addition to the meat and innards of a carcass. This has earned them the gratitude of Tasmanian farmers, as the speed at which they will clean a carcass helps prevent the spread of insects that might otherwise harm livestock.
Unfortunately, Tasmanian Devils are suffering under an outbreak of a sarcoma cancer spread by a virus and eventually causing death. Little is known about the virus, although it is assumed to be a retrovirus. However there is hope for the population, as it has been observed that the young Tasmanian Devils are not susceptible to the illness.
The Tasmanian Devil is probably best known internationally as the inspiration for an American cartoon character of the same name, which bears little resemblance to it.
Source: Wikipedia Read more about Tasmanian Devils
The Warner Brothers cartoon character Tasmanian Devil was created by Robert McKimson and based on the real-life mammal found in Australia. The cartoon and the real-life animal have many similarities, a large appetite and spastic behaviors. Although the cartoon version doesn’t really look a lot like the live mammal it does have several references to some other types of devils. His hair is in a horn shape like the biblical devil and he swirls in a tornado shape like a dust devil.
The cartoon Tasmanian Devil also known as Taz, is always hungry and will eat anything and everything in his path including trees, mountains, cars, and entire buildings. His ravenous appetite is usually the center of the plot for McKimson’s stories including Devil May Hare (released June 19, 1954). In this classic episode Taz is after Bugs. The ever suave bunny is merely annoyed by the beast due to his lack of skills in conversation, he just growls and slobbers and is not all that smart. Bug’s solution is of course to hook him up with an equally idiotic female devil with whom he get s married and takes off in a jet back to Tasmania.
The pilot animated short was in the theaters for only a short while before being canned by Eddie Selzer, the head of the Warner Bros. animation studio. Selzer believed Taz was too obnoxious. Later however, Jack Warner (the boss) asked about the character wondering where he had gone. He then informed Selzer that he had received several box fulls of fan mail, the people loved him. Taz was brought back and his acting career flourished.
More Tasmanian Devil Cartoons
McKimson directed 4 more Tasmanian Devil cartoons,
Bedeviled Rabbit (April 13, 1957).
Ducking the Devil (August 957) with Daffy Duck.
Bill of Hare (June 1962).
Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (March 1964).
The classic Tasmanian Devils final appearance was in Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales appearing in The Fright Before Christmas where he ate the sleigh and all of the presents in it.
Years later the Tasmania Devil showed up in several new incarnations such as the Looney Tunes shorts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Here is where he was given his nickname “Taz” and reached a new level of popularity.
Taz has had his own show called Taz-Mania, he’s done commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Subway and appears before the opening credits of the movie Twister, VHS version only though.
The Tasmanian Devil has enjoyed an enduring career however, at the risk of showing my age, he just isn’t the same without the voice of the master, Mel Blanc.
As comical as it is, the familiar Looney Tunes portrayal of a Tasmanian Devil as a seething, snarling, vortex creating, insatiable maniac is, at times, not all that far from the truth.
Tasmanian devils have a notoriously cantankerous disposition and will fly into a maniacal rage when threatened by a predator, fighting for a mate, or defending a meal. Early European settlers dubbed it a “devil” after witnessing such displays, which include teeth-baring, lunging, and an array of spine-chilling guttural growls.
These famously feisty mammals have a coat of coarse brown or black fur and a stocky profile that gives them the appearance of a baby bear. Most have a white stripe or patch on their chest and light spots on their sides or rear end. They have long front legs and shorter rear legs, giving them a lumbering, pig-like gait.
The Tasmanian Devil is the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial, reaching 30 inches (76 centimeters) in length and weighing up to 26 pounds (12 kilograms), although its size will vary widely depending on its specific range and the availability of food. Its oversize head houses sharp teeth and strong, muscular jaws that can deliver, pound for pound, one of the most powerful bites of any mammal.
Tasmanian Devils are strictly carnivorous, surviving on small prey such as snakes, birds, fish, and insects and frequently feasting communally on carrion. They are at their most rowdy when jockeying for position on a large carcass. Like other marsupials, when they are well fed, their tails swell with stored fat.
Devils are solitary and nocturnal, spending their days alone in hollow logs, caves, or burrows, and emerging at night to feed. They use their long whiskers and excellent sense of smell and sight to avoid predators and locate prey and carrion. They’ll eat pretty much anything they can get their teeth on, and when they do find food, they are voracious, consuming everything—including hair, organs, and bones.
Mothers give birth after about three weeks of pregnancy to 20 or 30 very tiny young. These raisin-size babies crawl up the mother’s fur and into her pouch. However, the mother has only four nipples, so only a handful of babies survive. Infants emerge after about four months and are generally weaned by the sixth month and on their own by the eighth.
Once abundant throughout Australia Tasmanian devils are now indigenous only to the island state of Tasmania. Their Tasmanian range encompasses the entire island, although they are partial to coastal scrublands and forests. Biologists speculate that their extinction on the mainland is attributable to the introduction of Asian dogs, or dingoes.
Efforts in the late 1800s to eradicate Tasmanian devils, which farmers erroneously believed were killing livestock (although they were known to take poultry), were nearly successful. In 1941, the government made devils a protected species, and their numbers have grown steadily since.
Survival Threatened
Tragically, though, a catastrophic illness discovered in the mid-1990s has killed tens of thousands of Tasmanian devils. Called devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), this rapidly spreading condition is a rare contagious cancer that causes large lumps to form around the animal’s mouth and head, making it hard for it to eat. The animal eventually starves to death. Animal health experts are sequestering populations where the disease has not yet appeared and are focusing on captive breeding programs to save the species from extinction. Because of the outbreak, the Australian government has listed Tasmanian devils as vulnerable.
Check out some cartoon Tasmanian devil pictures or some real Tasmanian devil pictures.