Cradle Mountain National Park has devils.  But not very many of them.  The spine-chilling screech you might be lucky to hear at night might not seem belong to this cute little Tassie icon, but it does.

Devils are little black flesh-loving marsupials, who are related to the quolls you can also see at Cradle Mountain National Park.

Their screeching, and their love of domestic chickens for dinner, meant that devils were not always as popular as they are now.  For more than 100 years they were trapped or poisoned, and were nearly wiped out.

Devils are now protected from hunting, but these cute little dog-shaped animals are again in danger of dying out because of a horrible disease called Devil Facial Tumour. The Save the Tasmanian Devil site  has lots of info and pictures of this awful disease.

You can see devils up close in their natural habitat at the devils@cradle Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary near the entrance to Cradle Mountain National Park. The Sanctuary is a major player in the effort to save Tasmania’s Devils.  With plenty of adults and babies available to see, you can look into a devils den from the viewing deck, or go on a guided walk through the Sanctuary.  Check their website for everything you could ever want to know about devils.  http://www.devilsatcradle.com/

Image – Mathew Stewart via Flickr