Devilishly cute joeys do ‘zoomies’ around huge new habitat
Five cheeky Tasmanian Devil joeys are busy doing ‘zoomies’ and play fighting as they explore their ginormous new habitat at Healesville Sanctuary.
The little devils, who are from two different litters, met for the first time in their new habitat after being weaned from their mothers.
Threatened Species Keeper Jessica Pulvirenti said it’s important for Tasmanian Devil joeys to socialise with each other as they would in the wild.
“It’s really important for juvenile Tassie Devils to socialise with each other for their behavioural development,” Ms Pulvirenti said. “Typically in the wild they stay together in a group for a few months after weaning before going their separate ways.”
Initially, the 10-month-old joeys were cautious about entering their spacious new habitat, but within the hour they were having a devil of a time running around and splashing in the pond.
This is the first time visitors will be able to see Tasmanian Devil joeys of this age socialising together in the habitat, which includes dozens of native plants and shrubs.
“The devils have been so curious exploring their new habitat, which includes beautiful native plants and shrubs,” Ms Pulvirenti said.
“Visitors can look forward to watching them playfully interact with each other as they grow up into mature, independent devils.”
The Tasmanian Devil is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a population of fewer than 15,000 remaining in the wild. A major threat is a contagious cancer – devil facial tumour disease – which has reduced sightings of wild Devils by 80 per cent since the disease emerged.
Healesville Sanctuary is part of the Save the Tasmanian Devil breeding recovery program, which aims to have a diseasefree insurance population and ensure a long-term future for this species.