See also: Mainland sightings

The Evidence For Mainland Devils

A number of Tasmanian devils have been collected from Victoria on Australia's mainland between 1912 and 1991 (see the photo of two mainland Tasmanian devil specimens). There are additional - earlier - sighting reports and physical evidence (in the form of skeletal material) for mainland devils also.

To date we have managed to locate a number of sources of information regarding these mainland devils - and whilst they are in agreement as to the fact devils have been found in Victoria, there remains some ambiguity in regards to dates and locations.

All mainland devil sightings and specimen collections that we are aware of, are described below in chronological order.

1855 - Numerous devils - NSW, Vic, SA

Paddle, 2000 citing Cambrian, 1855

Robert Paddle, in his book "The Last Tasmanian Tiger" makes reference to Victorian naturalist Cambrian who recorded that he was familiar with both live and dead specimens from these states. However he found them to be rare in South Australia at least, saying that "during the whole of our stay in South Australia we only saw two" (Paddle, 2000 citing Cambrian, 1855).

1896 - A colony - SA

Paddle, 2000

Paddle brings another early record of mainland devils to light stating that a nature column in the Adelaide Observer noted "a colony of Tasmanian bears" was still living in [the] location [of Lake Albert, South Australia] (Paddle, 2000).

1903 - Devil collected - Vic

One World Wildlife, undated

One World Wildlife claims "five carcasses, all road casualties" in its summary on research being conducted in Victoria, searching for devil scats (doppings).

[As an aside note, I - Chris - did not receive any reply from an emailed enquiry sent in about 2005/6, nor again in 2007 regarding the currency of the One World Wildlife project]

The site also presents a "distribution [map] of Tasmanian devil road casualties in the mainland state of Victoria" which lists six separate dates for the collection of Victorian devils, contradicting the project's summary page.

One specimen appearing on the map is for 1903, from Melbourne.

To date we have not found any corroborating evidence for this claim. Whilst this alone is not unique, One World Wildlife also provides no reference. One possible explanation for this date is that it refers to at least some of the skeletal material described in 1912 by Kershaw (see below) - although the date itself remains arbitrary in this context.

pre 1912 - Skeletal material - Vic

Paddle, 2000 citing Kershaw, 1912

Paddle also notes that Kershaw reported Tasmanian devil skeletal material from 3 localities which was "so recent [the bones] might easily have belonged to an animal which lived but a few years ago". He adds that the material was collected from the surface of the land and was unassociated with Aboriginal kitchen middens (Paddle, 2000 citing Kershaw, 1912).

Kershaw, 1912

Further research into Kershaw's article titled "Tasmanian Devil in Victoria" from the Victorian Naturalist journal? yields additional information which indicates that devil remains were found in five locations (Kershaw 1912):

• "Queenscliff,
• Gisborne,
• on the [Earth's] surface near the shores of Lake Corrangamite,
• near Camperdown, and,
• among other bones of still existing marsupials, on a kitchen midden or native camp of the aborigines, between Warrnambool and Port Fairy"

1912 - Devil sighted - Vic

Kershaw, 1912

Kershaw also mentions that "a member [of the Field Naturalists Club] stated that he had seen an animal in the Werribee Gorge, near Bacchus Marsh, which he thought could only be a Tasmanian Devil. Little weight was attached to his statement at the time" (Kershaw, 1912).

This observation was published in the Victorian Naturalist journal in September 1912 and refers to the information coming to light at "a recent meeting" of the Field Naturalists Club. It is possible this sighting occurred in 1911 or earlier.

1912 - Devil killed, preserved - Vic

Paddle, 2000 citing Kershaw, 1912

Paddle (2000, citing Kershaw, 1912) notes that "in 1912 a live Tasmanian devil was captured at Tooborac in Victoria, and described in scientific publication by the curator of zoological collections at the National Museum of Victoria" [now Museum Victoria].

One World Wildlife, undated

In contrast, One World Wildlife (undated) lists all mainland devil specimens as being "carcasses, all road casualties", including the 1912 specimen.

Kershaw, 1912

Kershaw provides the clarification: "an animal was sent to the National Museum a few days ago, which was at once recognised as a full grown female Tasmanian devil. It was killed at Tooborac, beyond Kilmore, about 63 miles from Melbourne.

"Mr W.E. Prince, who forwarded the animal says:- 'It was got by Mr Thomas Mason whilst wood-cutting. His dog smelt it out and attracted his attention by repeatedly barking. Upon cutting open the log, he secured the specimen.

"The question now to be determined is whether this is an introduced specimen escaped from confinement or a survivor of the Devils which we know existed at no distant period in Victoria" (Kershaw, 1912).

OZCAM, 2007

The Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums (OZCAM) database "KE EMu" (KE Software Electronic Museum) reports 5 devil "specimens" residing in the Museum Victoria Mammology Collection including an undated specimen from Tooborac with the following attributes:

• undated - Tooborac (skin, skeleton, catalogue number C6257, previous catalogue numbers R5035, R5037)

Hynes and Rehberg, 2007

The Tooborac specimen is one of the two examined by Debbie Hynes of this project. It is the smaller of the two specimens appearing in the photo attached to our media release of 2 August 2007.

1971 - Devil captured alive, later preserved - Vic

One World Wildlife, undated

One World Wildlife (undated) refers to a 1971 specimen originating in Ballarat.

OZCAM, 2007

The OZCAM databases report 5 devil "specimens" residing in the Museum Victoria Mammology Collection. A close inspection of the data seems to imply that three of these "specimens" are derived from a single animal, hence our usage of quotation marks for the term "specimen".

In particular, specimens receive a catalogue number but also record a "previous catalogue number".

Three records relate to 1971:

• 22 May 1971 - Dereel (skin, catalogue number C22543, previous catalogue number FWD5875)
• 22 May 1971 - Dereel (skeleton, catalogue number C17878, previous catalogue number FWD5875)
• 22 May 1971 - Dereel (skull, catalogue number C17712, previous catalogue number FWD5875)

The obvious conclusion (from the previous catalogue numbers, dates and locations) is that the three specimens from 1971 originated with a single animal.

Ballarat Courier, 1971

The Dereel devil made front-page news on 25 May 1971 not only because Tasmanian devils were considered "rare" on the mainland, but because this one was captured by an eight year old boy. Ian Tantau found the devil in one of his rabbit traps and is pictured prominently with the devil being held down on a table in front of him by a second person who is out-of-frame. The article notes "the Devil Ian found ... seems tame and is thought to have escaped from a private owner". The photo caption notes "The animal is tame enough to handle" Arguably incorrectly the article states that "none has been found on the Australian mainland before" although a journalist reporting such a rare wildlife event could be forgiven for the mistake.

Hynes and Rehberg, 2007

The Dereel specimen also appears in the photo attached to our media release of 2 August 2007. It is the larger animal.

1974 - Devil preserved - Vic

One World Wildlife, undated

One World Wildlife (undated) refers to a 1974 specimen originating in Ballarat.

pre 1991 - Devil - Vic

The Maryborough District Advertiser featured an article on the 1991 devil collected at Harcourt (see below). Interestingly the article suggests the 1991 specimen was the second collected from the Harcourt area. However, it is difficult to match this scenario with the remaining available data. Along with One World Wildlife's 1903 record, the pre 1991 Harcourt specimen remains an uncorroborated claim at this stage.

1991 - Devil roadkill, preserved - Vic

One World Wildlife, undated

One World Wildlife (undated) refers to a 1991 specimen originating in Yellingbo.

Paddle, 2000

Paddle noted two roadkill specimens in 1991 originating 150 km apart.

1991 - Devil roadkill, preserved - Vic

OZCAM, 2007

The OZCAM data included information about a third devil collected in Victoria:

• 28 March 1991 - Faraday (skeleton, catalogue number C31255, previous catalogue numbers W5145, FWD 14830)

One World Wildlife, undated

One World Wildlife (undated) refers to a second 1991 specimen which originated in Harcourt, Vic. Examining a map of the area shows Harcourt and Faraday to be less than 10 km apart. In contrast, Yellingbo (see above) is over 140km from either Faraday or Harcourt.

Paddle, 2000

Paddle noted two roadkill specimens in 1991 originating 150 km apart. It can be seen that the Yellingbo and Harcourt (listed under "Farady" by OZCAM) specimens described by One World Wildlife match the description provided by Paddle.

Maryborough District Advertiser, 1991

On 5 April 1991 the Maryborough District Advertiser ran a prominent article on the body of a devil discovered near Harcourt which includes a large photograph of Department of Conservation and Environment fisheries and wildlife officer Ian McRae? holding the specimen.

The photo caption mentions this as being the second devil killed in the Harcourt region and the first of two killed on Victorian roads in that week. (See also the "Missing data" section, below).

1991 - Footprints - Vic

One World Wildlife, undated

In addition to the road-killed specimen collected at Harcourt in 1991, One World Wildlife records footprints from the same location.

undated - Footprints - Vic

One World Wildlife, undated

Finally, One World Wildlife also records footprints from Healesville.

Missing data

Paddle noted the 1912 Tooborac specimen, then "four more" catalogued with the Museum of Melbourne (now Museum Victoria). However, the OZCAM data for Museum Victoria indicates only 3 devils in total, even though one of these animals was itself divided into three specimens (skull, skeleton, skin) yielding a total of five specimens.

On first inspection it would seem that Paddle has mistaken the five museum specimens for five animals. However, he explicitly listed two animals from different localities in 1991; OZCAM also lists two additional animals apart from the 1912 specimen - but only a single animal from 1991 and the other being from 1971.

Paddle's second 1991 animal is backed up by One World Wildlife and One World Wildlife also lists an animal from 1974.

We have been led to believe from an independent source, that the OZCAM database presents only data for which there are definite geographical coordinates. Specifically, at least one additional devil was mentioned with its geographical origin being no more specific than simply "Victoria".

In all liklihood the 1974 and the second 1991 dates provided by One World Wildlife are correct but these specimens do not show on the OZCAM databases due to lack of geographical data. This scenario is consistent with Paddle's description of Museum Victoria having five (devil) animals in total although we have not yet confirmed the 1974 and 1991 records first-hand.

The Maryborough District Advertiser notes the 1991 Harcourt specimen as the second roadkill on Victorian roads within a week. This supports the scenario of two 1991 specimens and I (Chris) believe I had heard previously they were killed 3 days apart - although that refrence escapes me at time of writing.

Being described as the second devil from the Harcourt region is also interesting as none of the other data here corroborates this claim. Was the 1974 specimen described by One World Wildlife as originating near "Ballarat" really collected 80 km further north-east near Harcourt? Is the 1991 OZCAM devil from Farady really the same specimen as described by One World Wildlife and the Maryborough District Advertiser as originating at Harcourt?

At time of writing, only the page depicting the photo and caption were available for assessment.

Summary

References

(This section is not complete - full references to come)

1 The information on this page attributed to Robert Paddle comes from the book "The Last Tasmanian Tiger: The History and Extinction of the Thylacine", 2000, Cambridge University Press, pp 22, 24-25

Note

the site homepage describes "five" Tasmanian devils as having been collected. The reason we chose this number, in light of the ambiguities, is because it is the most likely total number of devils held by Museum Victoria.