Tasmanian devils.
Sorrel takes us to a park where she quickly learns how these cute-looking things get their name.
Tasmanian Devil Park took in its first animals in 1978 and opened as a park the following year. There are now 25 exhibits, the latest being a special enclosure of raptors and birds of prey.
The park is run on excellent veterinary principles and they have support from institutions such as Taronga Zoo and receive regular visits from Australian mammal experts who give further training.
The Tasmanian devil is a nocturnal marsupial found only in Tasmania, but don't be fooled by their cute and cuddly appearance — they have an eerie, spine-chilling growl, black fur, a foul temper and eat other small animals and reptiles … whether they're dead or alive. It's thought all of these things contributed to the creature's evocative name.
Tasmanian devils grow to about 60cms in length and have incredibly strong jaws, allowing them to eat the entirety of their prey. Once considered pests, they are now appreciated for keeping crop eaters' numbers down, as well as keeping in check maggot and blowfly numbers.
The animal's lifespan is around seven years. Females give birth to around 50 babies, each the size of a grain of rice. After birth it's a race to her backward-facing pouch, which has only four teats; a case of first in, best-dressed survives.
The park's Kings of the Wind show is lots of fun, as well as being eco-friendly and educational. It includes demonstrations of birds' natural behaviour and characteristics.
Visitors to the park can check out the nursery, unless the workers are caring for a particularly skittish or distressed animal.
There are plenty of kangaroos, wallabies, potoroos and quolls roaming about, and everyone seems to want a photograph with them.
