Meeting the Real Tasmanian Devil

Meeting the Real Tasmanian Devil

I grew up watching Warner Bros’ Looney Tunes like millions other children in the world. I am exposed to many cute characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety and most notable “Taz” the Tasmanian Devil. Taz is a wacky character and it means trouble with its spinning ability. However, have you ever seen the real Tasmanian devil?

(Tasmanian Devil: Source – http://blogs.babble.com/)

This takes me to Tasmania a few years ago. I was traveling there with groups of media around Asia and for the first time, I met a Tasmanian Devil. It was an up, not so close but personal encounter.

There are few places you can meet Tasmanian Devil in Tasmania and Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary is one of them. Located at Brighton, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary is actively involved in saving and breeding Tasmanian Devil from extinction. Recently, they started the Tarkine Devil Project 

For those who didn’t know, Tasmanian Devil is on the verge of extinction with number of thousands left in the wild. Tasmanian Devil has been classified as endangered and a strange Devil face tumour disease has been killing the wild Devils for decades. On the conversation effort, wild Devils caught will be check and put in conservation centres such Bonorong. Thus, there is also breeding program for Devils too. Healthy captivity Devils will not put in the wild to separate them with the wild Devils due to widespread of face tumour disease.

If you wonder why it is called the Tasmanain Devil because they screamed like one. The eerie sound made by them sounds like devil and that’s why the locals called them the devil.

Read: Tasmania 2012 7D 6N Travelogue

As cute as they look, they are predators and more to scavengers. They consumed road kills and decades ago you can spot them easily. Now, it is quite a rare sight to spot them on the road. Else, they are also victim of road kills themselves that’s why conservation of Devils is very important.

In Tasmania, you must make effort to catch a glimpse to these Devils and you can do so in Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. Of course, there are also outer wildlife parks in Tasmania you can visit too.

Lastly, in Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, there are also other animals such as wombats, kangaroos, possums and many other animals. You will definitely enjoy your time there playing with those cute creatures!

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary Address, Contact and Tel:

593 Briggs Road, Brighton, Tasmania, 7030

Ph: (03) 6268 1184

Fax: (03) 6268 1811

Email:[email protected]

Website: http://bonorong.com.au/

Wilson Ng