Aussie Ark 1.8.2024

Aussie Ark wildlife ranger Adam Mowbray has had a dream come true when given the chance to hand-raise two Tasmanian devil joeys

Transcript

00:00It's devil joey time, and how adorable are these two?

00:15It's midwinter, and Aussie arks and endangered Tasmanian devils are breeding.

00:21Sadly these two joeys had to be removed from their mum.

00:25The mother originally had four in pouch, but has cannibalised on two of them.

00:29It sounds brutal to us humans, but it's actually a survival strategy of the devils, and it's

00:33also quite common.

00:35So we decided to intervene and save the remaining two joeys just in case.

00:41The sister brother pair are four months old.

00:46Being their mum is a big commitment, they need to be fed every five hours, day and night.

00:51This is the first devils I've been able to hand raise.

00:54They're only drinking milk, and in a month or two I'll transition them to meat.

00:58So I've just got one of the little devil joeys with me at the moment, we're just going

01:00to give her a quick weigh, then we'll feed her, and then we'll weigh her again so we

01:03know how much she's drunk.

01:05So she's 330 grams.

01:11I feel very privileged to be able to be mum to these joeys.

01:15This species is extinct on mainland Australia, and is sadly still being decimated by the

01:19deadly devil facial tumour disease in Tasmania.

01:25Aussie Ark's breeding and rewilding program is the biggest of its kind, helping to secure

01:29the devil's future in the wild.

01:33I need you to help me raise these joeys.

01:37These two joeys need names.

01:39Help Aussie Ark name them, and if your names are chosen, you'll be invited to the Ark to

01:43attend a devil release.

01:45The best way to name them is to digitally adopt a devil, or make a donation via aussieark.org.au.

01:55So stay tuned, we'll record my journey with them until they're finally weaned and independent,

01:59and begin their lives at the Ark.