The Dreaded Tassie Devil

[copespeak]

Australians love these crazy little guys. They have the most blood curdling voices you could image, they fight amongst each other like crazy, are marsupials with a pouch that goes backwards, carry their larger babies piled onto their backs underneath, hanging on to the teats. They have strong jaws that can munch through bone, love carrion, but sometimes hunt as well.

I have taken lots of photos of these little guys, but love this one from the net (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Adelaide). It shows his utter ferocity.

Sadly their habit of munching each other has spread a deadly facial tumour from animal to animal throughout much of Tasmania, and desperate efforts to save the healthy ones are underway.

Attachment 80957

[Caesar]

I knew this little irascible chap as the Tasmanian devil. I like this painting and this species, the biggest remaining aboriginal marsupial predator after the last thylacine, the marsupial wolf, died in a zoo in the middle of last century, more or less.

[coops]

He is very scarey but wonderfully painted

[Alexandra]

Hey Robyn, great painting. I hope they can save these magnificent animals.

[YoannLori]

Great painting. Love the nervous brushstrokes that goes with the attitude of your model !

Congrats

[stevemawmv]

Always have liked these guys ever since seeing a 'Warner Bros. cartoon' with them as a child...I know...sounds wierd!
But it did make me interested in the animals down in your part of the world! Don't want to loose these guys.....
Take care friend,
Steve

[MKROOT]

Great painting.

[kenmo]

Very nice....

[AndreaMG]

Splendid painting Dear Robyn. I googled it, funny thing is that in some photos they look real cute and all, but with the open mouth it's all another story, now I get where the "devil" comes from. What a sad story about their illness though.

[copespeak]

Thank you all for having a look and commenting. It was a quickie, but fun to do.

Andrea, the noise they make is so uncute! It's like fingernails down a blackboard!

Steve, I do remember that crazy cartoon. We do have lots of unusual critters in Oz, which are mostly marsupials. Nothing like giving birth to a 'jelly baby' sized infant which crawls up to a pouch!

Caesar, you are well versed on the thylacine! I have a wonderful 80+ year old friend who is totally engrossed in finding one before he departs this world. Sadly I don't like his chances, but there are vast tracts of dense forest in Tasmania, who knows what lurks in there!