THE ANIMALS OF TASMANIA

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Guest Post by Maria Kruk, an author for Species.com

On the edge of the world, among all the wilderness, animals of Tasmania contest every inch of the ground. In-very-deed, this little island can boast of numerous intricate and off-beat animal species, both terrestrial and aquatic, which struggle with constant storms and sea turns of the so-called Southern Ocean. Namely, endemics of Tasmania count nearly 33 terrestrial and 41 aquatic species, the population of which is obviously limited by the Tasmania coastline.

One can imagine what a dreamlike place it is – abundance of greenery, a dazzling water world and, of course, unique fauna.

Thylacine

It is impossible not to underline relatedness of Tasmanian animal world with those one of Australia. Abundance of marsupial species is likely to be the raciest feature.

Speaking of the island, Tasmanian devil and Tasmanian tiger (Tasmanian wolf, thylacine) are the most popular in context of zoological investigations.

Regarding the common idea of Tasmanian tiger’s extinction, there are some claims that individuals could still be found in remote woodlands. In addition, during the last decade there were certain attempts to clone Tasmanian tiger using DNA samples from national museums of Australia and Tasmania.

Tasmanian Devil

On the contrary, the Tasmanian devil is considered nowadays the biggest predator on the island, as the last records of Tasmanian tiger end up in 1936. Namely, this marsupial is in all intents and purposes the most unique species in Tasmania.

First of all, it is cruel and violent by nature, but prefers to be a scavenger. In appropriate cases, this dog-sized animal can even strike down a kangaroo! Secondly, the Tasmanian devil is a true environmental nurse. It will eat a prey entirely, including bones and fur, in this way preventing overwhelming reproduction of insects.

Devil’s fat accumulates in the tail, so it is easy to define whether animal is sick; thin tail testifies on its bad health. However, the environmental aid given by the Tasmanian devil was not appreciated that much during previous centuries, and nearly 600 years ago this species was driven out of Australia by Dingo and local farmers, who suffered from decline of cattle.

Red-necked Wallaby

In recent years, the significant growth of red-necked wallaby was recorded. This one is one more endemic marsupial on Tasmania Island.

Thanks to poaching control and forest clearance population of this kangaroo relative increased gradually; in fact, hunting for meat and fur has transformed into killing these animals to protect agricultural areas, where they gather in large colonies.

Certainly, the scales of killing wallabies are much smaller than earlier. It is interesting to know that red-necked wallabies of Tasmania have some differences from their continental companions. In particular, their fur and meat were of bigger value, as it is thicker and warmer; among Tasmanian wallabies one can also find albino individuals, which in sober fact look like big mice with red eyes. The population of Australian wallabies, in contrast, is bigger, as females can reproduce all year round.