After months and months of not always so patient waiting, we are excited to say that the 2012 breeding season at Devil Ark has been a huge success.
Last year we produced 26 joeys and this year we have counted
32 joeys!
The joeys currently range in size from little pink jelly
beans, to fully furred mini devils. With such a strong result, it must be said
that conditions for these animals are as close perfect as can be provided.
It was mid-February when we first noticed signs of
reproductive behaviour, the most obvious was devils not eating their food -
remember these animals are largely scavengers and will gorge feed, eating as
much as one third of their own body weight!
Usually the devils will only leave behind chewed bones, if
anything, so when we started noticing whole food items being left we knew the
breeding season had started.
As a marsupial (non-placental mammal) the Tasmanian devil
has an extremely short gestation period, around 19 - 21days. On average 20- 30
tiny joeys no larger than the size of a grain of rice are born; and four tiny
joeys could fit on top of a five cent coin. After birth the joeys must make
their way into the safety mum’s pouch.
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| joeys at approx 80 days |
The Tasmanian devil is an extremely competitive animal and
this behaviour starts right from birth. Of the 20- 30 joeys that are born, only
a maximum of four will survive (the mother only has four teats in her pouch).
What we’re seeing here is survival of the fittest right from the word go! Only
the strongest four with the best instincts will make it into the pouch, latch
onto a nipple and continue to develop.
The reason we have different age groups of joeys as not all
females birthed at the same time. The age difference is around three months.
Female devils can cycle three times (usually 55 days apart) during
a breeding season. This is known as 1st, 2nd and 3rd
oestrus cycles.
Once the joeys are too big for mums pouch (usually at around
4 ½ months) they will be left in their burrow, which has a nest right at the
end with rotting plant material to keep the little joeys warm. Devils are great diggers and burrows can be over two metres in length, going down on a
slight angle for over a metre.
Devil joeys are usually well weaned by eight months and will
disperse from the maternal burrow not to long after. These animals do not live
in family packs or mobs and will live a solitary life only coming together for
carrion feeding and breeding.
Like proud parents, Devil Ark keepers watch females with
tails and back legs hanging out of ever stretching pouches, we can’t wait to
have an up close look at the next generation of Tasmanian devils.
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| approx 100 days - joeys are now covered in a fine layer of velvety fur |
