Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)

I didn't realize that there were Tasmanian devils in Japan? How many does Tama Zoo currently keep and are they breeding?

@UngulateNerd92 I believe 2 elderly females.

@RatioTile oh ok, thank you for letting me know. How long have they kept the species?

@UngulateNerd92 I believe since the early 2010s or so, give or take. Not sure if there’s been turnover, though.

@RatioTile @UngulateNerd92 Tama first displayed two females Murdunna and Maydenna in 2016. Murdunna died in 2017 due to a cutaneous lymphoma. Maydenna died in February 2019 following some worrisome symptoms. In 2017 the zoo obtained the males Tamer/Ta-mar and Derwent. Derwent died January this year due to chronic heart failure. On a notice posted in June, Tamer is facing age related health issues.

On another note, in Japan Tasmanian Devil were previously kept in Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo and Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, with the latter keeping them for the first tine in the country between 1984 and 1991.

@PossumRoach thank you. This is fascinating information! Where did you find it?

@UngulateNerd92 for the Tama animals I used their notices which always seem to mention previous news related to the news they show. For the previous holders I came across an old news article/editorial by the then Director of Tennoji Zoo Shinichiro Maki. I used the magic of copy pasting and Google Translate to find the information.