﻿156 Allen's naturalist's liijrarV. 



parts and used their fore paws to convey food to their mouths. 

 The muscles of the jaws were very strong, as they cracked the 

 largest bones with ease asunder." 



Exclusively carnivorous in their habits, these animals, de- 

 spite their comparatively small size, commit great havoc among 

 the sheepfolds of the settlers, and are stated to be so ferocious 

 and to bite with such severity that one of them is fully a match 

 for any ordinary Dog. It is a curious comment on the present 

 state of zoological knowledge that naturalists are still un- 

 acquainted with the number of teats in the Tasmanian Devil. 

 Since, however, the female is stated to produce from three to 

 five young ones at a birth it is probable that there are six teats. 

 Beyond this statement as to the number of the young, nothing 

 seems to have been ascertained with regard to the breeding 

 habits of these creatures. Like many of its kindred, the Tas- 

 manian Devil is a burrowing and nocturnal animal. In size it 

 may be compared to a Badger, and owing to its short limbs, 

 plantigrade feet, and short muzzle, its gait and general appear- 

 ance are very Badger- or Bear-like. 



In order to afford some further notion of the ferocity of 

 these animals, we may quote the following passage from Krefft: 

 " One of them, and by no means a large one, escaped not long 

 ago, and killed in two nights fifty-four Fowls, six Geese, an 

 Albatross and a Cat. Having been recaptured in what was con- 

 sidered a stout trap, with a door constructed of iron bars as 

 thick as a lead-pencil, he made his escape by twisting this solid 

 obstacle aside, almost doubling it up with his powerful teeth. 

 To give some idea of the strength of the animal, we mention 

 that the blacksmith who repaired the trap could not bend the 

 bars back into their position without proper tools. When 

 caught in a Fox-trap, the black Dasyure often bites off the 

 fastened limb and escapes. A specimen in the Museum collec- 

 tion, the largest ever secured, had only three legs, one of th(i 



