It really is better to
face the devil you know.
And this is a devil.
A Tasmanian devil.
And since no one wants to see
an animal go extinct,
including the Tasmanian devil,
we have some good news for you.
These feisty marsupials are making a comeback.
For the first time in 3,000 years,
They kind of look like baby bears.
And until recently, they only lived on the island
of Tasmania.
But they did roam the Australian mainland
about 400 years ago.
Their coats are usually coarse brown or black fur,
and most Tasmanian Devils
have a white stripe or patch on their chest.
And they weigh in at about 12 kg (26 lb).
But we'll come back to that later.
Well, that's a fascinating story.
When the first European settlers arrived on Tasmania,
they heard blood-curdling shrieks and growls
coming from within the bush.
So the settlers imagined that demons surrounded them.
Naturally.
When settlers saw what was
making those fearsome noises,
they witnessed aggressive displays of
teeth-baring and lunging.
And that caused them to dub the creatures
Tasmanian devils.
But despite their diabolical moniker,
Tasmanian devils aren't dangerous
unless you provoke them.
So don't do that.
But they do have some crazy features.
Most impressive of all is their jaws.
Tasmanian devils have the strongest bites
of any mammal.
How strong are they?
Well, they're so strong
their jaws can crush bones and even metal.
They can do this because of their oversized heads,
which lets them open their jaws
to 80°.
And they put their chompers to good use.
Tasmanian devils can eat up to
40% of their body weight in one go.
So when they get a healthy bite of an unfortunate victim,
there won't be much left
when they're finished with their meal.
Waste not, want not.
And unlike most mammals,
having such a tough diet would
probably affect their teeth.
So they have another amazing trait to help them out.
Their teeth never stop growing.
That's perfect when you chew on bones all day.
They must get slammed on dental bills though.
But life hasn't been easy for Tasmanian devils.
Since the mid-1990s, facial cancer
has ravaged them.
And add in the human factor.
We've been impacting this animal's existence
for over 1,000 years.
Early hunters killed most of the continent's megafauna,
which meant Tasmanian devils had less to eat.
And finally,
settlers thought Tasmanian devils
were a nuisance
and hunted them.
But now, just when we thought they might go extinct,
these crazy creatures have shown
an evolutionary response.
The spread of the devils' facial disease has slowed.
And a wildlife organization, Aussie Ark,
helped at the birth of the first wild Tasmanian devils
on Australia's mainland in over 3,000 years.
So now, we need to make sure the population of
Tasmanian devils
stays stable.
And that's where these cute babies come in.
If we can safely reintroduce them back into the wild,
they would help Australia's ecosystem stay balanced.
Tasmanian devils play a
crucial role in keeping the habitat
clean of diseased and rotting animals.
So let's hear it for these misunderstood marsupials.
They have a crushing bite
and are vital for their ecosystems.
That's what Tasmanian devils do.
And that's what makes them
Crazy Creatures.