What Do Tasmanian Devils Eat? Scavenging and Bite Force

What is in a Tasmanian devil’s diet?

The Tasmanian devil is an opportunist that eats whatever meat it can find. Studies of devil droppings and feeding behavior show that medium and large mammals make up most of the diet.

The mix changes with sex, season and place. In a study at Cradle Mountain, larger prey dominated the diet in summer, while medium-sized mammals such as possums and pademelons became more important in winter. Females ate less large prey than males and more animals that live in trees, mainly possums.

Devils have also been found to dig up buried carcasses, and the remains of collars, tags and even echidna spines have turned up in their droppings.

Scavengers first, hunters second

Devils are not fast runners. Their normal pace is about 13 km/h (8 mph), with short bursts of up to about 25 km/h (16 mph) on flat ground, so they cannot chase down a healthy wallaby or rabbit. Instead they rely on carrion and on prey that is slow, young, sick or cornered.

They find food mainly by smell and hearing, walking long circuits of their home range each night along tracks, creek banks and roads. The scent of a carcass can draw devils from far away, and they will cross several kilometers to reach it.

Despite their reputation, devils do hunt. They catch small mammals, birds and frogs, and they can kill animals as big as a wombat. Some observers have reported devils waiting quietly before rushing at prey, which suggests they sometimes ambush rather than chase. Young devils are good climbers and raid trees for birds, eggs and insect grubs.

Before the thylacine was wiped out, devils probably scavenged its kills, much as many predators today benefit from the leftovers of others. Compare the spotted hyena, another bone-crunching carnivore that both hunts and scavenges.

How strong is a Tasmanian devil’s bite?

Relative to its body weight, the Tasmanian devil has one of the strongest bites of any living meat-eating mammal. A well-known 2005 study compared bite force with body mass using a measure called the bite force quotient. The devil scored about 181, higher than lions, tigers and spotted hyenas, which scored roughly 110–130.

In absolute terms the devil’s bite is much weaker than a big cat’s, simply because the devil is so much smaller. Its estimated bite at the canine teeth is around 550 newtons (about 125 lbf). What makes it remarkable is the combination of:

• a large head and very thick jaw and neck muscles
• jaws that open to about 75–80 degrees
• broad, heavy cheek teeth that crack bone, similar in function to a hyena’s

These features let a devil chew through thick hide, crush leg bones and eat a whole small animal. For comparisons with other animals, see our list of the strongest bite force in the animal kingdom.

Eating everything: bones, fur and all

Devils waste very little. They often start on the soft belly and internal organs of a carcass, then work through meat, skin and bones. A group of devils can make a small animal’s carcass disappear almost completely.

Because they eat so much bone, devil droppings are large for the animal’s size, often around 15 cm (6 in) long, and are usually gray with bone fragments inside. Devils tend to leave droppings at shared spots known as latrines, which may help them communicate.

This clean-up job is useful. Tasmanian farmers have long noticed that devils remove carcasses quickly, which reduces the flies and maggots that can spread to livestock.

How much do Tasmanian devils eat?

A devil eats on average about 15% of its body weight each day, so a 7 kg (15 lb) devil needs roughly 1 kg (2.2 lb) of food. When a large carcass is available, it can eat up to about 40% of its body weight in roughly half an hour.

After such a feast a devil becomes heavy and sluggish and usually waddles off to sleep it off. Their metabolism is relatively slow for a carnivore, which helps them get through lean times.

Communal feeding at a carcass

Devils usually forage alone, but large carcasses attract several at once. Groups of two to five are common, and up to about a dozen devils have been seen at a single carcass. These meals are famously loud, with growls, snarls and screeches that help settle who eats first. Usually the dominant devil feeds until it is full while others wait or try to sneak in.

Researchers think the noise may reduce real fighting, since most disputes are settled by sound and posture. Unfortunately, the bites that do happen at shared meals are also the main way devil facial tumor disease spreads, as explained in are Tasmanian devils endangered?.