From all the entries, I have learnt about the behaviour, reproduction of the Tasmanian devils and the reason why they became endangered. Before I do my research, I did not know much thing about the Tasmanian Devils. However, after doing my research, I realised that Tasmanian devils are also important.
I had learnt that the devils had a good sense of smell and their vision is the strongest in black and white. The devil produce a strong odour when agitated. The long whiskers on its face help the devil to locate prey. The Tasmanian Devils are now endangered due to the devil facial tumour disease which killed many devils within so many years. The Devil Facial Tumour Disease form large lumps on the devils' head and around the mouth and make it difficult for them to eat. Soon, the devils starves to death, therefore they separate the sick animals and healthy devils to prevent the wild population die out.
I feel that scientists should try to work harder to find out how to cure them and everyone should play a part to stop all the endangered animals from being extinct. People can help by try to reduce the amount greehouses gases, because too much greenhouse gases can lead to global warming.
Due to global warming, animals such as polar bears are now emdangered. That is because global warming causes the temperature to increase and thus sea ice melt. Sometimes the polar bears drown as reduction in sea-ice cover also forces bears to swim longer distances.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Reflection 3. Tasmanian Devils
This is about what causes the Tasmanian Devils' population to become endangered.
Efforts in the late 1800s to eradicate Tasmanian devils, which farmers erroneously believed were killing livestock (although they were known to take poultry), were nearly successful. In 1941, the government made devils a protected species, and their numbers have grown steadily since. A transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease, also known as DFTD, was seen in 1996. This rapidly spreading condition killed tens of thousands of Tasmanian Devils. It causes large lumps to form around the animals’ mouth and head, making it difficult for them to eat, thus they starves to death. Animal health experts are sequestering populations where the disease has not yet appeared and are focusing on captive breeding programs to save the species from extinction. Because of the outbreak, the Australian government has classified the Tasmanian devil as least concern in 1996, but in 2009, they were reclassified as endangered. The population of the Tasmanian devil are monitored to track the spread of the disease and to identify changes in disease prevalence. Field monitoring involves trapping devils within a defined area to check for the presence of the disease and determine the number of affected animals. The same area is visited repeatedly to characterise the spread of the disease over time. Field workers are also testing the effectiveness of disease suppression by trapping and removing diseased devils. They hoped that the removal of diseased devils can prevent the wild population dies out and allow more devils to survive. As Tasmanian devils have low levels of genetic diversity and a chromosomal mutation unique among carnivorous mammals, they are more likely to get the disease.
Reflection:
The Tasmanian Devils are now endangered due to the devil facial tumour disease which killed many devils within so many years. The Devil Facial Tumour Disease form large lumps on the devils' head and around the mouth and make it difficult for them to eat. Soon, the devils starves to death. As the scientists are short of a cure, they separate the sick animals and healthy devils to prevent the wild population die out.
Efforts in the late 1800s to eradicate Tasmanian devils, which farmers erroneously believed were killing livestock (although they were known to take poultry), were nearly successful. In 1941, the government made devils a protected species, and their numbers have grown steadily since. A transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease, also known as DFTD, was seen in 1996. This rapidly spreading condition killed tens of thousands of Tasmanian Devils. It causes large lumps to form around the animals’ mouth and head, making it difficult for them to eat, thus they starves to death. Animal health experts are sequestering populations where the disease has not yet appeared and are focusing on captive breeding programs to save the species from extinction. Because of the outbreak, the Australian government has classified the Tasmanian devil as least concern in 1996, but in 2009, they were reclassified as endangered. The population of the Tasmanian devil are monitored to track the spread of the disease and to identify changes in disease prevalence. Field monitoring involves trapping devils within a defined area to check for the presence of the disease and determine the number of affected animals. The same area is visited repeatedly to characterise the spread of the disease over time. Field workers are also testing the effectiveness of disease suppression by trapping and removing diseased devils. They hoped that the removal of diseased devils can prevent the wild population dies out and allow more devils to survive. As Tasmanian devils have low levels of genetic diversity and a chromosomal mutation unique among carnivorous mammals, they are more likely to get the disease.
Reflection:
The Tasmanian Devils are now endangered due to the devil facial tumour disease which killed many devils within so many years. The Devil Facial Tumour Disease form large lumps on the devils' head and around the mouth and make it difficult for them to eat. Soon, the devils starves to death. As the scientists are short of a cure, they separate the sick animals and healthy devils to prevent the wild population die out.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Reflection 2. Tasmanian Devils
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_Devil
About their reproduction:
Males fight over females in the breeding season, and female devils will mate with the dominant male. Females can mate with several males if not guarded after mating. Gestation lasts 21 days, and devils give birth to 20-30 young. When the young are born, they move from the vagina to the pouch. They will remain attached to a nipple for the next 100 days when they are inside the pouch. It is physically difficult for the female to interact with young inside the pouch. The female has only four nipples, so there are never more than four babies nursing in the pouch
As the female devil gets older, the smaller her litters will become. On average, more females survive than males. The nourished young develop quickly in the pouch. After 15 days, the external parts of the ear are visible. Eyelids are apparent at 16 days, whiskers at 17 days, and the lips at 20 days. The young will only start to grow fur at 49 days and have a full coat by 90 days.
After their fur coat develops, the can open their eyes and soon, their mouths can relax their hold of the nipple. They are able to leave the pouch 105 days after birth, and they will weigh about 500 grams. After the devils leave the pouch, they will not return, instead, they will stay in the den for 3 months before becoming independent. Female devils are occupied with raising their young for all but approximately six weeks of the year.
Reflection:
From this, I know that the females can give birth to 20-30 young devils. Females can also mate with several males if not guarded after mating. The devils will then move from the vagina to the pouch. They will remain attached to a nipple so that the devils will grow. However, the female has only four nipples, so there are never more than four babies nursing in the pouch. The devils will only leave the pouch after 105 days and stay in the den for 3 months before becoming independent.
About their reproduction:
Males fight over females in the breeding season, and female devils will mate with the dominant male. Females can mate with several males if not guarded after mating. Gestation lasts 21 days, and devils give birth to 20-30 young. When the young are born, they move from the vagina to the pouch. They will remain attached to a nipple for the next 100 days when they are inside the pouch. It is physically difficult for the female to interact with young inside the pouch. The female has only four nipples, so there are never more than four babies nursing in the pouch
As the female devil gets older, the smaller her litters will become. On average, more females survive than males. The nourished young develop quickly in the pouch. After 15 days, the external parts of the ear are visible. Eyelids are apparent at 16 days, whiskers at 17 days, and the lips at 20 days. The young will only start to grow fur at 49 days and have a full coat by 90 days.
After their fur coat develops, the can open their eyes and soon, their mouths can relax their hold of the nipple. They are able to leave the pouch 105 days after birth, and they will weigh about 500 grams. After the devils leave the pouch, they will not return, instead, they will stay in the den for 3 months before becoming independent. Female devils are occupied with raising their young for all but approximately six weeks of the year.
Reflection:
From this, I know that the females can give birth to 20-30 young devils. Females can also mate with several males if not guarded after mating. The devils will then move from the vagina to the pouch. They will remain attached to a nipple so that the devils will grow. However, the female has only four nipples, so there are never more than four babies nursing in the pouch. The devils will only leave the pouch after 105 days and stay in the den for 3 months before becoming independent.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Reflection No. 1 Tasmanian Devil
This is about description and the behaviour of the Tasmanian Devil.
The Tasmanian devil is found in the wild at the Australian island state of Tasmania. Since the late 1990s, a catagious disease, the devil facial tumour disease has reduced the devil population. Short of a cure, scientists are removing the sick animals and quarantining healthy devils in case the wild population dies out. It has a squat and thick build, with a large head and a tail that is about half its body length. Its forelegs are slightly longer than its hind legs. The males are usually larger than females as they have an average head and body length of 652 mm, with a 258 mm tail, and an average weight of 8 kg, while females have an average head and body length of 570 mm, with a 244 mm tail, and an average weight of 6 kg. The average life expectancy of a Tasmanian Devil in the wild is estimated at six years, although they may live longer in captivity. As devil stores their body fats in their tails, unhealthy devils often have thin tails. The devil will produce a strong odour when they are agitated. Long whiskers on the face of the Devil can help to locate the prey when they are foraging in the dark and detect whether other devils are close during feeding. Hearing is its most important sense, but it also has an excellent sense of smell. The devils’ vision are the strongest in black and white, however, they have difficulty seeing stationary objects. Each Tasmanian Devil only has a set of teeth that grows slowly throughout its life.
The Tasmanian Devils spend their days in dense bush or in a hole. Young devils can climb the trees, but as they grow larger, it will become more difficult. They can swim and do not form packs. They occupy territories of 8–20 km², which can overlap considerably amongst different animals. It can take prey up to the size of a small kangaroo but they eat dead animal flesh more often than they hunt live prey. Even though they prefers wombats, it will eat other mammals such as birds or fish and reptiles. They can help the Tasmanian famers to prevent the spread of insects that might otherwise harm livestock as they can devour the bones, fur, meat and internal organs of the carcass.
Reflection:
From this website, I had learnt that the devil had a good sense of smell and their vision is the strongest in black and white. The devil produce a strong odour when agitated. The long whiskers on its face help the devil to locate prey. It can run up to 13 km per hour for short distances.The devils can take prey up to the size of a kangaroo but it eat carrion more often than they hunt live prey. The devil population dropped significantly as there is a spread of devil facial tumour disease. Short of a cure, scientists can only try to stop the population dies out by separating the sick animals and the healthy devils.
The Tasmanian devil is found in the wild at the Australian island state of Tasmania. Since the late 1990s, a catagious disease, the devil facial tumour disease has reduced the devil population. Short of a cure, scientists are removing the sick animals and quarantining healthy devils in case the wild population dies out. It has a squat and thick build, with a large head and a tail that is about half its body length. Its forelegs are slightly longer than its hind legs. The males are usually larger than females as they have an average head and body length of 652 mm, with a 258 mm tail, and an average weight of 8 kg, while females have an average head and body length of 570 mm, with a 244 mm tail, and an average weight of 6 kg. The average life expectancy of a Tasmanian Devil in the wild is estimated at six years, although they may live longer in captivity. As devil stores their body fats in their tails, unhealthy devils often have thin tails. The devil will produce a strong odour when they are agitated. Long whiskers on the face of the Devil can help to locate the prey when they are foraging in the dark and detect whether other devils are close during feeding. Hearing is its most important sense, but it also has an excellent sense of smell. The devils’ vision are the strongest in black and white, however, they have difficulty seeing stationary objects. Each Tasmanian Devil only has a set of teeth that grows slowly throughout its life.
The Tasmanian Devils spend their days in dense bush or in a hole. Young devils can climb the trees, but as they grow larger, it will become more difficult. They can swim and do not form packs. They occupy territories of 8–20 km², which can overlap considerably amongst different animals. It can take prey up to the size of a small kangaroo but they eat dead animal flesh more often than they hunt live prey. Even though they prefers wombats, it will eat other mammals such as birds or fish and reptiles. They can help the Tasmanian famers to prevent the spread of insects that might otherwise harm livestock as they can devour the bones, fur, meat and internal organs of the carcass.
Reflection:
From this website, I had learnt that the devil had a good sense of smell and their vision is the strongest in black and white. The devil produce a strong odour when agitated. The long whiskers on its face help the devil to locate prey. It can run up to 13 km per hour for short distances.The devils can take prey up to the size of a kangaroo but it eat carrion more often than they hunt live prey. The devil population dropped significantly as there is a spread of devil facial tumour disease. Short of a cure, scientists can only try to stop the population dies out by separating the sick animals and the healthy devils.
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