The Tasmanian Devil

I was just thinking of an adventure I had back in 1988. I had just completed my enlistment with the Air National Guard....and decided to take a rather interesting trip. A place I wanted to go for a long time. With that, I liquidated the 5 grand I had in my state pension...jumped on a plane....and it was off to Australia (for over 3 months). One of the best adventures I ever had. The flight was long and tiring. The first stop was Hawai'i.....then next was New Zealand. Just my luck....as I reboarded the plane in New Zealand.....the customs officer saw my US passport and started to berate me for America's actions. I knew not of what he was talking about.....until he stated that the government shot down an Iranian airliner. He was quite upset....accusing me....as if I represented the US....of shooting down that plane. It took several minutes to explain to him I was just an average "joe" taking a vacation. Finally, in the air once again.

Next stop was Melbourne, Australia. That is located in the southern part of the country. While it was summer back in the "states", it was winter still in Australia. Rather cold there.....nothing like Idaho though. I next jumped aboard the M/V Abel Tasman. The large ferry named after the man who discovered the island of Tasmania.
The trip took several hours and the seas were choppy. We disembarked finally at the north end of the island. The sun was shining....though chilly and windy it was.

Now....I am sure most of you have heard of the infamous "Tasmanian Devil". Yes....the kind like they have in Bugs Bunny. I had never actually seen a live one until then...but was amazed at just how close the cartoon character resembled the real thing....at least as far as its' mannerisms were concerned. The real animals are about the size of a small dog....or large cat. They are mostly black, but have white spots on various parts of their coats.
They do have large ears and a think short tail. They kind of reminded me of an overgrown badger. And like the cartoon one....they were fearless with horrible table manners. They would eat anything....alive or dead. Skin, bone and horns....all would be eaten....just like the cartoon Taz. And yes....they made the same noises as the cartoon Taz.....a collection of grunts, growls, squeals, whines, cries and yells. They are particularly loud when feeding...and if you never heard one before....you will not soon forget the sounds they make.

I saw a few in the wild, but they are secretive and usually came out only at night. I wanted to see more....so I went to the zoo in Hobart where they had a number of these beasts. The handler jumped into the pit with them and fed them a chicken....they had it torn to shreds in minutes....and there was nothing left...including the feathers. Amazing is the only way to describe it....little eating machines. With that, the handler picked up a large one by the tail and brought it over. It was grunting and squealing and tried to bite him. I would guess that it weighed about 20 solid pounds. He sat it on the wall next to me...where I was allowed to touch and pet it, with its head safely pointed the opposite way. I was told they have some of the greatest jaw bone pressure of any animal...capable of crushing the thickest bones and hooves. I was in store for a special treat.....as the was a she-devil (female) who had 3 young in her pouch. They are marsupials after all. The babies were still rather small and had just gotten their fur. I could see them tucked down in that pouch.

It was a time I would not soon forget....and much nore interesting than looking at kangaroos or emus all day. Yes....Taz and his relatives are alive and well.....on that small island state in the south of Australia.