Tasmanian Devil Babies - Tasmania

During June and July the female Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus harrisii ) aren't very active and finding them can be difficult.  The reason for their slumber is that most are heavily pregnant or have given birth to young.  Amazingly up to 50 young can be born and the joeys must race a distance of about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) from the birth canal to the mother’s rear-facing pouch, where they compete to attach themselves to one of only four available teats. Only those four will then have a chance to grow and survive.

LEFT:  A female Tasmania Devil ((Sarcophilus harrisii) rests on her back revealing three large joeys.

August is the time when the devils are beginning to develop fur and their eyes are opening; for the most part the joeys are still attached to the teats.  At this stage of development, the youngsters are growing rapidly and depending upon the number of young in the pouch, it maybe difficult for the mother devil to accommodate them all.  The mother devil will scavenge and hunt prey during this time while carrying the babies in the rear-facing pouch attached to her nipples.

LEFT:  A large heathy male devil baby, guard hairs reflecting in the sun, suckles. 

During this time, mother devils attempt to keep beneath the radar as much as possible, as protecting their infants is their prime responsibility and concern.  Other devils (male and female) but particularly male devils may try and kill the youngsters The reasons for this are varied but include :protecting food resources (less food to share), reducing rival male devil's DNA by killing the rival's young, and causing the female to become receptive again.

When the young finally are too large, they emerge from the pouch and often ride on their mother’s back, like young koalas or possums, or are dragged along underneath her, still attached to her nipples. After about six months, the young are weaned, leaving the mother to live alone in the bush by late December until the following march when courtship and mating begins again.

To read more Tasmanian devils posts

• Hunting Wild Devils in the Night
• March is Breeding Time for Tasmanian Devils
• Shadowing the Devil Task Force

March is Breeding Time for Tasmanian Devils

Many of you know that I spend quite a bit of time seeking out Tasmanian Devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) attempting to gain suitable photographs of nocturnal devils for the Devil Task Force, the branch of the Tasmania Government assigned with the task of protecting and conserving the devil.

Whilst there is never a perfect photograph, my collection of devil photographs is slowing increasing as I spend many of my evenings in the field.  I thought I’d quickly share with you one of the latest images of a night-time devil.

One aspect which is a little different is the rear leg held upright with the pad exposed. At the time when I took the photograph I didn't notice this.

ABOVE:  Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).  The yawn or open mouth is NOT an aggressive threat posture, but a warning signal that either I or another devil is getting too close - it's a way for the animal to communicate “keep your distance” without entering into an actual fight. 

At some stage, I'll write a post outlining how I photograph the devils at night.  It isn't as straight forward as you may think and it's taken considerable time to perfect my technique using multiple flash units.

Breeding Season

At the moment the devils are a little skittish as we are entering into the mating season.  Many sexually mature female devils are deep within the confines of a den involved in other nocturnal affairs.  During the breeding season, males will fight over females in an attempt to gain individual mating rights, and in an attempt to ensure their mate’s infidelity (and maintain his genetic line), keep their chosen female in custody within the den.   Often you will observe a male devil literally dragging a female along with him as he leaves the den to drink or eat.  Copulation is not a “do and run” deed with devils and often can take five days to complete.  The reason for this lengthy period of time is that the female  devil ovulates up to three times in a 21 day period.    Devils are not monogamous and females may mate with several males if left unprotected, fighting off younger “lesser” males in an attempt to only allow the stronger male to reproduce with her.

Time is Always lacking...

It seems there’s always a shortage of time for everybody these days and unfortunately I’m not an exception; not as many images as I’d like to, get uploaded to the website or to stock.

To read more on the Tasmanian Devil - read my earlier post.

Tasmanian Wildlife Carer Rehabilitates Australian Short-beaked Echidna

Recently I was asked to photograph a small Australian Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) that been found alongside a walkway in southern Tasmania.  The young orphan had been discarded by its mother for some reason and a “good samaritan” had found the nymph and passed it along to “wildlife carers” to nurture and hopefully rehabilitate to the wild. 

Observing let along photographing an echidna this young is uncommon; usually they are still in the mother’s pouch (actually a fold of skin) or are left in the burrow whilst mother is out and about searching for food.  To see a very young echidna usually means that the mother has been killed or has “dumped” the baby for some reason.  Echidnas frequently are killed by vehicles along roads and by farming practices (farming ploughs often dig up mother echidnas and their young), but in this case the mother was nowhere to be found.  Why the youngster was ousted from the pouch so early and what happened to the mother are questions that were to remain unanswered. 

LEFT:  Australian Short-beaked Echidna & wildlife carer pose for the camera - meet "Young Quills"

The wildlife carer cared for the baby echidna for several weeks feeding the young urchin every 2-3 days with a specially brewed high protein, high fat milk which replicated, as much as possible, the milk that would have been supplied by the mother.  The milk is administered to the infant by a micro pipet usually used in chemistry classes to deliver defined and accurate volumes of whatever to a test tube.   The echidna, nicknamed “young quills” lapped up the rich liquid with his exceptionally long and sticky tongue; only becoming less active when his full was taken.  After the 10-15 feeding it was time to return to a long sleep to digest the liquid meal.

To house the echidna, a special basket was used that was lined with soft loose material.  The basket was kept in a specially heated room in an attempt to replicate the warmth of the mother’s pouch or burrow, and had a lid to ensure the inside was in more or less perpetual darkness.  The only time Quills was allowed to exit the pseudo pouch was for feeding.  Young Quills grew quickly and put on substantial weight and his fluffy fur was soon to be replaced with more defined fur along with the beginnings of the many spines that this critter is known for.  

All seemed well for Quills and the next stage of the rehabilitation was being put in place.  It was planned that after reaching a certain size, Quills would leave his initial wildlife carer to be relocated to another carer whose task was to teach the young Quills how to search for and eat ants; the favoured food of the echidna.  Usually this would be done by the mother echidna (obviously), however, in this case a carer would have to act as a surrogate mother.  After a month or so of teaching, Quills would have then been released into the wild to fend for himself.

LEFT: The claws of Australian Short-beaked Echidnas are exceptionally sharp and strong.  Echidnas have the ability to burrow quickly beaneth the ground.

However, this was not to be!  Quills died in the early morning.  The reason behind his death was unknown; the carer had done everything in her power to look after Quills.  As baby echidnas are uncommon, the reasons for Quill’s death were important so that carers could learn from the event.  An autopsy was performed by a Government Veterinarian in an attempt to determine the reason for Quills’ untimely departure from the natural world.  Although nothing definite could be established, adhesions around the heart were found.  Whether this may have been a cause for the animal to be discarded from the mother is unknown. 

Wildlife Carers are located in all Australian states and donate their time to care for native animals in distress; often when food and medical supplies are low they dig deep into their own pockets to purchase essential items.  

LEFT:  Juvinile Australian Short-beaked Echidnas lack the basic survival skills until taught my the mother.

If you discover a lost or injured native animal, don’t ignore it.  Carefully remove the animal from danger (road, etc) and place it in either a darkened sack or a box with a lid.  It’s important to ensure the animal is kept warm, quiet and in darkness, as this will lessen the stress for the animal.

To contact a wildlife carer in Tasmania (Australia), call the Injured and Orphaned Wildlife Programme on (03) 6233 6556.  Feel free to make comments on this post in the comments section below.

Hunting Wild Tasmania Devils in the Night

Tasmania Devils (Sarcophilus harrissii ) are endemic to Tasmania, a small island state in Australia.  Once common throughout forest areas, these nocturnal creatures are declining in numbers and have been listed on the IUCN Red List as endangered.  The reason for the decline and IUCN listing is the development of a viral disease called Facial Tumour Disease.  The disease, which is still being investigated and mapped, spreads rapidly amongst devils as they fight and argue amongst themselves for mating privileges and when competing for food. 

LEFT:  A wild Tasmania Devil pauses and looks about for potential predators.

Natural History – A Few Facts

Devils are the largest marsupial carnivore, roughly weighing the same as a largish medium sized dog.  They have excellent smell, can travel long distances in an evening in search of prey, and can eat 20 times their own body weight in one sitting.  They primarily feed on carrion, although live prey is often taken.  Their life span in the wild for roughly 5 years and they become sexual mature at 2-3 years.  Although devils appear vicious looking they are not; I’ve had wild devils sniffing at my boots and playing with my tripod legs!  Adding to their perceived vicious reputation is their loud cry which is very unnerving when heard on a dark night, and their rather poor table manners – devils argue over food and often have short-lived fighting arguments which can be quite intense and very loud.

Photographing Wild Devils- Equipment

Photographing wild Tasmanian Devils is not easy!  First you have to find them, and then they have to be receptive to you being in their space.  Further, shooting at night with flash and fixed light is not the easiest of activities as any budding photographer will attest to.

I use an assortment of equipment to photograph devil which chnages depending upon the environmental situation.  Usually I have two industrial style spotlights set up either side of the carcass.  It’s important to try and disguise the lights as much as possible and usually I’ll hide them in the bush.  The purpose of the lights is to allow the camera to acquire a focus lock easily on an approaching devil.  I’ve discovered through trail and error that some devils don’t mind the lights at all, while others shy away from them – it’s a personal devil thing. 

LEFT:  A Tasmanian Devils rips open the carcass in a frenzy to eat as much as it can before other devils join in the feast.

I always use a tripod and usually use a 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens or a 300 f2.8 lens attached to a Canon 1Ds camera. I use two Canon 580 EX speedlights.  One flash is mounted on a Wimberely flash bracket from the camera L-plate (main light) and the other flash (fill light) is mounted on a small tripod and set off to the side.  I sync the speedlights using two pocket wizards. To ensure that the speedlights are pointing exactly at the devil and not pointing elsewhere, I use a small portable red laser light.  The laser light ensures that the flash is pointing a exactly the place I want the artificial light directed.  On occasion I also use a better beamer and/or flash snoot to help funnel the light and not expose the background too much.  I always set the flashes to manual and rarely use ETTL.

Nocturnal photography of wild animals can be very hit and miss, especially when you must maintain your position and be relatively quiet.  Often if you relocate your position on the fly, and the devil is wary, it will run away and not return that night.

LEFT: A Tasmania devil part way through it's dinner on carrion, stops and looks about before screaming out loud to warn other devils that he has first dibs on the food.

Establishing a Blind & Bait

I’ve spent quite a bit of time photographing devils in a number of locations and by far the best method is to establish a blind of some description; my latest blind was a hole in the ground covered with a military style camouflage net.  On this particular night it was quite amusing, it rained filling the shell scape (a small hole) that I’d dug with water.  I can remember spending the night cold, wet and miserable until 3 devils came by to cheer me up. 

LEFT: A Tasmania Devil stands over carrion that has been securely staked to the ground.

There is no chance that you will photograph, let alone see a devil without setting bait.  I usually collect road kill and then securely stake it to the ground in an opportune area.  I then create a number of blood trails through the forest leading to the staked kill .  A blind can be almost anything from a shell scrape in the ground with a net, to hiding amongst bracken.   It’s important to reconnoiter the location of the blind as it must be downwind of the carcass.  Devils have exceptional senses of smell, and they will smell you a long way off if your scent is blowing toward the carcass.  I remember on one devil shoot the wind was blowing the wrong direction.  I could see the devils in the distance circling the bait, but they would not approach closely.  I decided to cover my clothes with the odour of dead wallaby, and this partly solved the problem, but they were still wary.

LEFT:  Tasmania Devil with Facial Tumour Disease (FTD) on face near jaw.  In the last 12 months I have witnessed a steady increase of devils with FTD in this area.

Patience

Patience is a virtue with devil photography.  Although devils are most active and hour after dusk and an hour before dawn, they can turn up at the kill at anytime during the evening.  Often you must put in long hours of waiting for a devil to turn up – and then there is no guarantee that the devil will feed on the carcass.  I’ve seen lots of devils appear, scout the location and then disappear into the night as quickly as they appeared!

Exciting Experience

I enjoy photographing all animals; however, there is something about devil photography that keeps me wanting to go back for more.  Perhaps it’s having to be patient waiting for a devil to appear, or maybe it’s the work you have to do before you even see a wild devil.  You have to establish a blind, find road kill, set the bait and then stay awake most of the evening; you also get VERY dirty and often are covered in odour and blood from the carcass.   Certainly, the work before the shooting begins makes any images taken far more worthwhile.

I certainly get a “buzz” when, on a dark drizzly night, you see a white blaze in the darkness moving toward you!  To have the privilege of observing the feeding habits of these amazing creatures is a wonderful experience, albeit a messy one.

If you’re interested in reading more about the plight of the Tasmanian Devil, navigate to the official “Save the Tasmania Devil” web page at http://tassiedevil.com.au/

To read a little more about the Tasmania Devil Task Force, click here.

To view short video of devils feeding that I filmed on a previous trip, click the multimedia tab in the menu bar above.

Update on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 1:27PM by Iain D. Williams (Anaspides Photography)

FOLLOW UP: – MARCH 2011

Scientific study and results have identified that the disease was not caused by a virus or bacteria but an infectious line of cancer cells passed from one animal to the next by cell implantation, such as when they bite one another. 

This breakthrough at the State Government’s Mt Pleasant Laboratory gave hope to devil researchers that they might be able to control the disease in the wild.

Officials have stated that this maybe a turning point in the investigation of the devastating disease and the breakthrough study has been noted by the global scientific community.

Tasman Bridge Industrial - Cement Kingdom

 

ABOVE LEFT:  Underside of overpass, Tasman Bridge, Tasmania

ABOVE RIGHT: Cement columns and electrical conduits beneath the Tasman Bridge, Tasmania   

Every now and again I get asked to do something different.  An engineering client requested some images of the Tasman Bridge for use in one of the company reports.  The request was a little odd in that they wanted something different to indicate the structure and form of engineering.  Rather than shoot the bridge (which the world has already done) I opted to explore the underside of the bridge where few people venture.  All in all I think I shot around 35 frames of different structures from varying angles which in my opinion related to form and structure.  I liked the way the massive cement columns, unpainted and natural, seemed to overpower the viewer.  I also liked the way that the sunlight, which was still rather harsh for that time of day, struck the cement leaving strong straight shadows.  In my mind these lines of shadow helped to define the structure and strength of the bridge.  To help emphasize this, I choose to shoot in muted colors, black and white and colour.