Tasmanian Devil photo-op

December 2012

What an extraordinary photo! Do visitors have to sign a waiver before they hold the devil?

Not a real kid?

Interesting behavioural enrichment, but....

Words fail me. A risk would be taken by putting a Welsh corgi that close to an unfamiliar child of that age (3/4 maximum?), with no apparent means of restraining the animal.

I ask out of genuine curiosity (and concern), could a Tasmanian devil kill a human child? Is their ferocity and strength greatly exaggerated in popular culture?

I suppose I should have added some comments when I posted this, so my apologies for that.

There were two baby devils that had been handraised and were used in this photo-op. The public paid to have their photo taken, and the money goes to the Devil Ark that the ARP has setup to breed the devils (a response to the facial tumour disease that is killing them in the wild).

The photo-op lasted about half-an-hour, and the devils were very bored - this one is having a yawn. They showed absolutely no interest in the kids at all. The pink towel acted like a security blanket for the devil, and portected the kids from their claws. Towards the end of the session when one young girl enthusiastically tried to hug the stuffing out of one, the devil's response was to try and get away.

And I didn't pixelate anything - that's how this child looked in real life.

Alternative explanation for the apparent pixellation [not sure if I've spelt that right] is that the kid caught the facial tumour thing off the Devil...

I think she's just been watching too much TV ....

Hix, how dangerous are adult Tasmanian devils? Are they docile enough that keepers will go in with them, or are they handled like big cats and bears?