Australia 2024 – The Return – Day 10 – Time to complete the Bucket List

Most of the day was spent driving the 185 miles to Cradle Mountain from the Freycinet Peninsula. We found the roads in Tasmania fairly good but as they were all single carriageway, the drive took a lot longer than using a motorway.

We arrived at our accommodation, Cradle Mountain Hotel, in good time for our early evening visit to Devils@Cradle.

Devils@Cradle runs conservation programs for Australia’s three largest carnivorous marsupials – the Tasmanian devil, the Spotted-tail quoll and the Eastern quoll. All three of these species are currently listed as either threatened or endangered in the wild and all occur locally in the Cradle Mountain area.

We were told that as these marsupials are nocturnal, the chances of seeing them in the wild at night was unlikely so the trip to Devils@Cradle was the best option.

The tour at Devils@Cradle gives an overview of the plight of the marsupials and how the conservation programmes are trying to reintroduce them into the wild.

We were told that Devils@Cradle is a privately-owned, conservation-based, breeding facility that is involved in two national conservation programmes focusing on the three species of marsupials. They also rescue, raise and release orphaned or injured wildlife.

The Tasmanian devil is the largest of the world’s carnivorous marsupials, with males and females weighing around 10 kilos and 7 kilos respectively, larger males can reach 11-12 kilos. The Tasmanian devil got its name from early European settlers who were alarmed by its loud, high-pitched screams and growls. The settlers thought they were hearing sounds coming from a demon or devil in the bush at night. We heard these sounds when the young devils were feeding and one can understand why the early settlers thought as they did.

The devil is a solitary species which has evolved into a very effective scavenger. They have a strong build and powerful jaws capable of crunching and consuming bones efficiently. The devil is an opportunistic hunter and will eat almost anything from insects, amphibians and reptiles through to larger species such as possum, wallaby and wombat. They rely largely on their sense of smell and their endurance when searching for food. We were told that their lifespan is believed to be 5-6 years in the wild and up to 7 years in captivity.

The devil is very adaptable and finds suitable habitat throughout Tasmania’s diverse landscape, from the alpine mountainous areas (such as Cradle Mountain) through to the coastal environments surrounding the island. Currently the species is only found in Tasmania and is believed to have been forced into extinction on mainland Australia following the introduction of the dingo. The species has recently been classified as ‘endangered’ following a decline of up to 85% across its natural range due to a contagious facial cancer known as Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). In addition to DFTD, another major threat to this species is roadkill – with a smorgasbord of carrion available along the highways the devils will gravitate to them, so drivers need to take care when travelling Tasmanian roads after dark.

The Spotted-Tail quoll is the largest of the quoll family, native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, with males and females weighing around 4 kilos and 2 kilos respectively. Two subspecies are recognised, the smaller northern Queensland subspecies and a larger one which is found in small numbers in southeastern Australia and Tasmania.

Largely territorial, they are considered an apex predator with their prey consisting of insects, crayfish, lizards, snakes, birds, domestic poultry, small mammals, platypus, rabbits, arboreal possums, pademelons, small wallabies, and wombats. As this suggests, they are capable of predating on animals much larger than themselves. Their lifespan is 3-4 years in the wild and up to 6 years in captivity.

They are found throughout Tasmania, which is considered their last stronghold, but also exist in patchy distribution along the east coast of mainland Australia. We were told that they live in a variety of habitats, but seem to prefer wet forests such as rainforests and closed eucalypt forest.

This species is vulnerable to decline with the main threats being habitat loss and fragmentation, roadkill, competition from foxes on the mainland, feral cats, illegal poisoning, and trapping and shooting, due to the fact that they will kill poultry.

The Eastern quoll is a small to medium-sized carnivorous marsupial native to Australia, with males and females weighing around 2 kilos and 1 kilo respectively. It is a fast and agile solitary predator, hunting at night for its prey of insects and small mammals. It has also been known to scavenge food from the much larger Tasmanian devil. We were told that their lifespan is 3 years in the wild and up to 5 years in captivity.

Eastern quolls are unique among the quoll species. They are the only species that can be found in two completely different fur colours – fawn and black (referred to as a ‘morph’). The fawn morph is more common as only 25% of Eastern quolls have black fur and both sexes can be either colour.

Their habitat is varied and consists of alpine areas including grasslands, heathland and rainforest through to dry grassland and forest areas bounded by agricultural land and also some coastal environments.

They were once found across south-eastern Australia, but are now only found in the wild in Tasmania. Feral foxes and cats, as well as habitat loss and disease, caused their extinction on the mainland. The last sighting of Eastern quolls on the mainland was in the 1960s. The lack of foxes and dingoes in Tasmania is believed to have contributed to the survival of the species here on the island. Today, the main threats to the Eastern quoll is roadkill, habitat loss, insect decline, competition and predation from feral cats and illegal poisoning and trapping as people often confuse this species with the larger Spotted-Tail.