The world’s carnivores devour everything, but according to recently published research, Tasman’s demons (Sarcophilus harrisii) number. the Ecology and Evolution According to the research results presented in the journal, almost every purse devil has its own unique taste, that is, it is quite selective.
Australian researchers studied the eating habits of 71 wild Tasmanian devils at seven different locations in Tasmania. This can be assessed by subjecting one drinker per animal to isotope analysis. From the food consumed, their characteristic stable (non-radioactive) isotopes are incorporated into the consumer’s body and can be detected even from such a small sample.
The researchers were surprised by the results of the analyzes: only approximate. One tenth of the demons lived on a general diet, that is, each tenth bag devours all the food that came before it. On the other hand, 90 percent of them consumed their “favorite foods”, that is, they insisted on a certain type of animal.
The researchers, of course, wondered the result: why wouldn’t this exotic animal in Australia feed in the same way as other carnivores in the world? They came to the conclusion that this was most likely due to the fact that in the region of Tasmania (which is the last natural appearance of the species at the moment), competitors, that is, carnivores and other carnivores, can simply do this. An animal with a similar lifestyle, for example, has a lot of competitors in Africa, so it really forces you to consume anything. On the other hand, the Tasman demon is the king of the Tasmanian wilderness, and his rivals can only be his rivals, and therefore he can afford to eat only his favorite food.
In a strange way, the Tasman demons were the most selective in the food they ate.
