Although a Tasmanian devil can give birth to up to 40 young, only 4 can survive, with an average of 2-3, because of the limited number of mammae in her pouch.
Although a Tasmanian devil can give birth to up to 40 young, only a maximum of four can survive per litter because of the limited number of mammae in her pouch. Each female Tasmanian devil has four teats inside her pouch, so only the first four young that firmly attach to one will survive while the rest will starve.
Although four Tasmanian devil pouch-young sometimes survive, the average number is two or three per litter.
• Image | © Duncan Rawlinson – Duncan.co, Some Rights Reserved, (CC BY-NC 2.0)
• Sources | (Boyce, 2018; Fahey & Kinder, 2001; Nowak, 1999; Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, April 2018)
