{"id":912719,"date":"2026-10-01T22:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T22:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/912719\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T22:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T22:08:15","slug":"tasmanians-urged-to-check-dead-devils-for-orphaned-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/912719\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasmanians urged to check dead devils for orphaned babies"},"content":{"rendered":"

A simple check of a dead Tasmanian devil\u2019s pouch could save a life, with wildlife expert Greg Irons urging Tasmanians to look for orphaned babies during a narrow window that comes just once a year.<\/p>\n

Irons, director of Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, said Tasmania\u2019s orphan season had arrived \u201cwith an absolute bang\u201d.<\/p>\n

There are currently 12 orphaned animals being cared for at his home, ranging from wallabies and possums to a bettong, wombat and several baby Tasmanian devils.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say, yeah, it\u2019s been madness,\u201d Irons told Pulse.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary director Greg Irons has urged Tasmanians to check pouches of dead devils. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

He and his wife are providing round-the-clock feeds, with one just before midnight and another at 3.30am.<\/p>\n

Irons said orphan season began as the weather warmed and more young animals emerged from their mothers\u2019 pouches.<\/p>\n

\"\"Motorists have been asked to stop and check the pouch of a dead devil when it is safe. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty much if it\u2019s got fur in Tassie, most of them have got a pouch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have a pouch, you\u2019re not fashionable in Tassie.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a mother is killed, her baby can need weeks or months of care before it is ready to be released.<\/p>\n

But for Tasmanian devils, there is a much narrower window.<\/p>\n

\"\"Two of the orphaned devils lost their mother to devil facial tumour disease. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Devils breed in March and April and their babies are born about the size of a grain of rice.<\/p>\n

They grow rapidly over the following months, meaning September and October are a key time to find young devils still in their mothers\u2019 pouches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see a dead devil and it\u2019s safe to stop, to stop and check the pouch, \u2019cause there\u2019s literally this little window that we find baby devils for the year and then we won\u2019t see them again till next year,\u201d Irons said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone we tell says that they\u2019re totally unaware of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"One of the young devils in care was attacked by a dog, Irons said. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

He is also concerned about the potential impact of bird flu on devils, which could eat animals that have died from the virus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know what\u2019s gonna happen with bird flu,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know their genetics are absolutely shot from, you know, their past and losing numbers so quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there\u2019s every chance they\u2019re gonna get smashed by bird flu.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Motorists have been asked to stop and check the pouch of a dead devil when it is safe
\n\"\"Tasmanian devils breed in March and April, with babies born about the size of a grain of rice. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Of the young devils currently in his care, one was attacked by a dog, two lost their mother to a car strike and two lost their mother to devil facial tumour disease.<\/p>\n

He said preventing mothers from being killed was the best outcome, but people should not be nervous about checking a pouch if they find a dead animal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they\u2019ve never done it before, it might be a bit daunting and it\u2019s really easy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever the animal is, you just pop it on its back. Imagine there\u2019s a zip down the middle of it and sort of, you know, work your way down the middle and just find the pouch and look inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonorong can provide advice over the phone to anyone who finds a live pouch young, Irons said.<\/p>\n

\"\"September and October are the key months for finding young devils in their mothers\u2019 pouches. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery life counts and then let\u2019s check pouches if we see them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A simple check of a dead Tasmanian devil\u2019s pouch could save a life, with wildlife expert Greg Irons…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":912720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-912719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/912720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}