Posts Tagged ‘looney toon’
Tasmanian Devil
Many people have seen Looney Tunes’ Tasmanian Devil. But the cartoon depiction bears little actual resemblance to the now endangered animal. The animal is quite unique.
Taz is the name of the cartoon Tasmanian Devil. This stylized version of the marsupial was first featured in Devil May Hare, a cartoon short released in 1954. He tries to eat Bugs Bunny but keeps getting embarrassed by the rascally rabbit . Many people didn’t like him, so the studio ditched the character. But he was revived in the late fifties after Warner Brothers received a lot of positive fan mail. It wasn’t until the 1990′s that the character was repackaged as “Taz.” Warner Brothers suddenly had a new popular character. They even created “Dizzy Devil” a kid version who appeared as a Tiny Toon.
There were a few similarities between the animal and the cartoon Tasmanian Devil, such as a wild eating style. The cartoon version also incorporated elements of the horned devil. The animal looks a lot like a thick dog. They store fat in their super long tails. Thus a thin tailed one is generally unhealthy.
The Tasmanian Devil is pretty fast. They can run at about 8 miles per hour for short distances. They use their whiskers as detection devices for night hunting. The hear and smell far better than they see. If something isn’t moving it may as well be invisible.
As a mammal the Tasmanian Devil can bite harder than any other, relative to its size. This is due in large part to their relatively large head and to teeth that continue to grow throughout its life. They can live 6 years in the wild, but longer in a zoo.
The Tasmanian Devil is the largest mammal in all of Australia, not counting man. Its home is Tasmania although it once thrived in all of Australia. After the Thylacine became extinct in the 1930′s, the threat to the Tasmanian Devil was recognized. They were hunted to near extinction by people who felt they were a nuisance. They were even eaten, described as having a veal taste.
Currently the Tasmanian Devil is a protected species.