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The
average lifespan of the tasmanian devil is anywhere between
seven and eight years. The Devil feeds on small birds, reptiles,
amphibians, insects and the dead livestock. The devil is
also nocturnal and only hunts at night. It sleeps in its
den during the day. It roams about 16 km from its den which
is a great distance for a small animal like this. Young
devils can also climb trees.
Devils were a nuisance to the early European settlers of
Hobart Town, raiding the poultry yards, but were soon driven
away to more remote areas of the island. In 1830 the Van
Diemen's Land Co. introduced a bounty scheme to remove devils,
as well as Tasmanian tigers and wild dogs, from their northwest
properties: 2/6 (25 cents) for male devils and 3/6 (35 cents)
for females. Devils ate animals caught in snares, and were
believed to take lambs and sheep. For over a century they
were trapped and poisoned and became very rare.
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