Tasmanian Devil (14 page)

A devil den and latrine site at the base of a sandstone cliff at Fentonbery. High quality dens such as this probably remain in use for hundreds of years.
(Courtesy Billie Lazenby)

Until I was asked by Mr. A. S. Le Souëf, Director of the Zoological Gardens, Moore Park, New South Wales, early in 1910 to obtain, if possible, Tasmanian Tigers (
Thylacinus
cynocephalus
) and Devils (
Sarcophilus harrisii
) for the London Zoological Society, I had never thought of keeping either of these animals in my collection; in fact, they were quite unknown to me except as museum specimens, although I had frequently visited remote parts of our island. I have vivid recollections, however, of how, when a young girl at boarding-school in the late [eighteen] forties, some of the girls from Bothwell, near the Lake District, used to give graphic and terrifying accounts of the Tasmanian Devils with their double row of teeth. This belief is not yet exploded, as it was impressed upon me lately with the utmost confidence by a country visitor that such was the case; he not only believed, but said ‘he had seen'. The teeth have been described to me by a scientist as truncated.
  Shortly after hearing from Mr. Le Souëf, by means of advertising, writing, etc. I obtained three for the London Society, and having then become thoroughly interested I determined to keep some myself. Since that time a large number have passed through my hands, and more than once I have been ‘a woman possessed of seven devils'.
  In April 1911 I received a family (a mother and four young), and again in September of the same year a similar lot arrived. The former were very young, and I had the opportunity of watching their growth almost from their first appearance when partly protruding from the pouch. When sending them, the trapper wrote that ‘the mother was so quiet, I need not be afraid to pick her up in my arms'. The little ones hung from her pouch (heads hidden in it), and she lay still and motionless as if afraid of hurting them by moving, and allowed me to stroke her head with my hand. However timid they may be, and undoubtedly they are extremely so, growling and showing their teeth when frightened, they always evince this gentleness and stillness when nursing little ones.

Mary Roberts owned and operated Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart between 1895 and her
death in 1921. She collected animals and birds from all over the world and also
maintained a thriving business exporting Australian fauna. She wrote that
Tasmanian devils were her favourite creatures. Her insights into their behaviour were
in marked contrast to public perceptions of them as stinking vermin. (Courtesy Collection
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery)

    The skin of the young, on arrival, had the appearance of a slate-coloured kid glove, the tail darker towards the tip. The hair could be seen growing black and velvety from the head downwards, the latter being hidden in the pouch for some days, and it was interesting to note the progress of the growth of the hair from day to day. The shoulders were covered while the hindquarters were almost, or quite, bare, although a faint streak of white was discernible where the white markings were to come later on. At this early stage, should the mother get up to move about, which she rarely does in the daytime, the young somehow scramble into the pouch again.
    This family went later to the London Society, but the second, which came on the 16th of September, I kept for my own pleasure, with the exception of the mother; as she had lost a foot when being trapped, I thought it best to have her destroyed later on. Unfortunately, when they were about half grown one escaped into the garden, and the next morning her mutilated remains were found—she had fallen a victim to our two fox-terriers. The three survivors have been ever since an unfailing source of interest and amusement to my family, to visitors, and myself. When a bone or piece of meat was thrown to them a tug-of-war was always the result, and sometimes a chase into one door and out of the other of the little cave. At other times, while one has been holding on to a bone held in my hand, I have lifted it completely off the ground, while another would cling on round the waist and try to pull it down.
    Many visitors from the Commonwealth have heard such exaggerated accounts of the ferocity and ugliness of the Tasmanian Devil (others, again, have believed it to be a myth), that they sometimes express surprise when they see them so lively, sprightly and excited, running out to my call; they then remark, ‘the devil is not so black as he is painted'.
    Two of these Devils were latterly kept together as a pair, and for the purposes of this article I will call them Billy and Truganini, after the last two survivors of our lost Tasmanian race.
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These showed no disposition to breed until April 1913, and my observation of them and of many others that I have had in my keeping is, that the disinclination to take up maternal duties is always on the part of the female. I then noticed suddenly a decided change—that Billy would not allow her to come out of their little den; if she did venture when called to be fed, or at other times, he immediately attacked her and would drag her back by the ear, or any other part, but although otherwise cruel, he would carry food in to her. When I called her, it was pitiable to hear her whining; but it was of no avail, for Billy was a relentless tyrant and kept her in strict seclusion for quite ten or twelve days; then early in May he allowed her to be free once more. From thence onward, although they were sometimes peaceable and affectionate, the balance of power was completely on Truganini's side; she constantly resented his approach by biting and snarling at him: it seemed as if coming events cast their shadows before, and she instinctively felt that he would do the young some injury. From now her pouch was anxiously scanned day by day, but it was some time before I could be sure that it was gradually enlarging. I had been advised by Dr Hornaday, of the New York Zoological Park, that if ever the Tigers or Devils were likely to have young, to remove the male, and as soon as I was certain, I had Billy taken away and placed with the other member of the family. This made Truganini most unhappy, as he was near enough for her to hear him, besides which, the two males fought; so, being cautioned by my family that perhaps my interference might cause a disaster, I yielded and replaced him, doing so with many misgivings. Matters went on much the same until late in September, when to my delight a tail, and at other times part of a small body, could be seen sticking out of the pouch, more especially when she sat up to wash her face, or rolled upon her back; unlike domestic cats, the devils use both paws for washing, placing them together and thus making a cup-like depression which, when thoroughly licked, is rubbed well over the face. Everything looked very promising on the Sunday before Michaelmas Day, when I noticed Truganini carrying large bunches of straw about in her mouth, evidently seeking for a retired place to make a bed, and we had already placed some fern logs in a corner of their yard. As Billy would follow her about and interfere, I had a box put down with a hole cut in the side that she might hide under; but it was of no use, as where she went he would also go, and a scrimmage was the inevitable result. Early next morning, with many misgivings I left home for ten days, only to find on my return that her pouch was empty and that the young had disappeared, and as no remains whatever had been found, I could only conclude that they had been eaten by Billy.

Tasmanian devils at Beaumaris Zoo, c. 1910. (Courtesy Collection Tasmanian
Museum and Art Gallery)

    Thus ended all my hopes and anticipations for 1913. I have not so far related an incident that took place just before the breeding-season. Being hopeful that Truganini might have young in her pouch, and my assistant being as usual very busy, Professor T. T. Flynn, of the Tasmanian University, who is always interested in our marsupials, kindly offered to examine her pouch. As soon as an attempt was made to catch her, Billy grasped the position of affairs and fought to defend her with all his might, even getting behind her in the little cave, putting a paw on each shoulder and holding her tightly, lest she might get into what appeared to him to be the danger zone. By dint of perseverance and a little strategy he was outwitted at last, but our hopes were doomed to disappointment.
    Truganini has now passed through another period of retirement, and I am hoping to record shortly a greater measure of success for 1914.
    I cannot close this article without a few words in defence of the Tasmanian Devil, as I am sure that it is more or less ‘misunderstood', and the article with photograph published in the ‘Royal Magazine' for October 1913 under the name of L. R. Brightwell, F. Z. S., is, I consider, greatly exaggerated both as regards their appearance and character, viz., ‘They are well named, for they tear everything, even sheep, to pieces if they get the chance'.
    On several occasions when one of mine has escaped, the only mischief done has been the destruction of a fowl or a duck or two. It would have been just as easy for a wallaby to have been killed if they had had the inclination, about which our fox-terriers would not have hesitated for a minute if a chance had occurred. When in transit to London last year one escaped, and I have been told by the chief officer of the vessel that ‘the passengers were much alarmed as there were children on board, and someone went about with a revolver'. Later I came across the butcher who was in charge at the time, and he appeared to have been rather amused than otherwise, and told me the missing one was discovered at last sleeping under the berth of one of the sailors! I don't wonder, with the reputation that the devils have, that the passengers were alarmed.
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Mary Roberts had more luck in 1914 when Truganini gave birth to three babies. Billy was again the father but was now kept away from the maternal enclosure. Roberts compiled diary notes, as with these examples:

29th—All three playing like puppies, biting each other and pulling one another about by the ears . . .

30th—Whole family hanging from the mother as she ran out, and one hardly knows which to admire most, her patience and endurance, or the hardihood of the young in holding on and submitting to so much knocking about. The whole process seems very casual and most remarkable . . . The baby devils had the sense of smell very strongly developed; immediately I approached, their nostrils would begin to work and a vigorous sniffing would go on. They were also expert climbers, and although I had some specially constructed yards made, they would get up the wire-netting and walk along the top rail quite easily; at other times they would climb a pear-tree growing in their enclosure and sit in the branches like cats.
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