After becoming an internet sensation back in October last year, the 11-month-old cheeky Tasmanian devil duo, ‘Vegemite’ and ‘Toast’ are ready to embark on their next adventure. The pair will be on display in the Tasmanian Devil exhibit at the Australian Reptile Park, where they’ll be able to truly embrace their natural behaviours and instincts.
Since being born back in March last year, the Mammal keepers at the Australian Reptile Park well and truly had their hands full with hand-raising the two devil joeys. It was no easy tasks with Keeper Lauren Hunter needing to feed the pair every 4 hours, including a feed at 2am when they were first born. As they’ve grown and been living at the Park full-time, it’s been all hands on deck with the Mammal team, with Keeper Tyler Lowe taking on the mammoth task of caring for these two little devils.
In twelve months’ time, both Tasmanian devil joeys will make their return to Aussie Ark and be released into a wild protected sanctuary – the largest of its kind for Tasmanian devils. There they will be able to join the breeding program and become ambassadors for saving this iconic Aussie animal. Aussie Ark’s population of Tasmanian devils are free from the devastating devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) that plagues wild populations.
“I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to hand-raise these joeys with Keeper Lauren.” Mr Lowe expressed. “It’s extremely rewarding to see that they’re thriving and by now being on display at the Australian Reptile Park, they can learn to hunt, explore, and interact with their surroundings before being released into Aussie Ark’s sanctuary.”
Mr Lowe continued “It’s time to take action and protect this beautiful species. Even if only one person took the time to look into the conservation and protection of Tasmanian devils and what the Reptile Park and Aussie Ark are doing to save the species, we have done our job!”
Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate on earth. With over 40 mammals alone extinct, Australia is an incredibly important region as so many of our species are found here, and nowhere else on the entire planet. 87% of our mammals, 93% of our Reptiles, 94% frogs and 45% birds are only found in Australia and we must protect them.
