Ten tiny, egg-like joeys have been confirmed as the newest members of mainland Australia’s largest fleet of Tasmanian devils.
It comes after the first pouch check of the 2025 breeding season at Aussie Ark’s Barrington Tops sanctuary in northern NSW.
A recent deluge that brought more than 600mm to the region didn’t rain on the devils’ parade, with a spokesperson saying all the joeys, mums and dads were safe.
Operation manager, Dean Reid, said up to four more devils are expected to conceive in June in the final breeding window of the year.
“It’s really amazing to be able to handle a devil … and see those amazing devils come out of the pouch,” Reid said on Thursday.
“These gnarly, big, chunky animals have little baby joeys in their pouch.
“We’ve got four more females that didn’t have them and one we missed, so more joeys to come.”
The Tasmanian devils’ mating season occurs over three cycles from February to June, with birth coming after 21 days’ gestation.
When catching the devils, the conservationists found there was a mix of joeys from the first and second cycle conceptions.
Reid also said the joeys’ fathers and mothers were doing well.
“While we have the females, we do a full health check, we’re doing body scores, weight and giving them preventatives,” Reid said.
“In a couple of months, we’re going to see little tiny joeys running around.”
The announcement comes on World Environment Day.
This article by Australian Associated Press was also published by The Guardian on 5 June 2025. Lead Image: A devil population in Tasmania’s far north-west is one of the last in Australia to remain tumour free. (Supplied: David Stowe).
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