Читать книгу Fauna of Australia. Photo Album 2020. - Romans Arzjancevs - Страница 16

The Tasmanian Devil is estimated to have become extinct on the Australian mainland around 400 years ago and fossils have been found that prove this.

– The Tasmanian devil is the largest surviving carnivorous marsupial. It has a squat, thick build, with a large head and a tail which is about half its body length. Unusually for a marsupial, its forelegs are slightly longer than its hind legs, and devils can run up to 13 km/h for short distances.

– Young devils can climb trees, but this becomes more difficult as they grow larger. Devils can scale trees of trunk diameter larger than 40 cm, which tend to have no small side branches to hang onto, up to a height of around 2.5—3 m. Devils that are yet to reach maturity can climb shrubs to a height of 4 metres, and can climb a tree to 7 m if it is not vertical. Adult devils may eat young devils if they are very hungry, so this climbing behaviour may be an adaptation to allow young devils to escape. Devils can also swim and have been observed crossing rivers that are 50 metres in width, including icy cold waterways, apparently enthusiastically.