| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (50 min. 43 sec.) ; 307320217 bytes |
| Summary |
Tasmania is home to the biggest marsupial carnivore left on earth - the Tasmanian Devil. Award-winning filmmakers David Parer and Liz Parer-Cook explore the way of life of this special Australian in Terrors of Tasmania.In the past Devils have had their share of bad press. They den under farmhouses and make blood-curdling screams at night, scaring the occupants witless. They scavenge on dead animals such as possums and sheep and were thought to be indiscriminate killers. Terrors of Tasmania highlights another side to the Devil's personality that will challenge pre-conceived ideas about this extraordinary animal. Experience a year in the life of a female Devil called Manganinnie as she chooses a mate, gives birth to three healthy males and successfully raises them to independence.In a film set against the striking landscapes of Tasmania and in the company of creatures found nowhere else on earth, biologist Dr Menna Jones is unravelling the mysteries of how female Devils, like Manganinnie, choose a mate. By using captive Devils at Trowunna Wildlife Park she is conducting a series of fascinating mate-choice experiments and discovering some surprising results. But threatening the Devils' existence is a facial cancer attacking their immune system. This disease is decimating Devil numbers and is a major concern of Menna's. Since the mid 90s over a third of Tasmania's Devil population has been wiped out. At Freycinet Peninsula on Tasmania's east coast, Menna has established a long-term study site. With no cure available, her study is important to help gain an understanding of this fatal disease |
| Event |
Broadcast 2010-02-09 at 03:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: G |
| Subject |
Endangered species.
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Tasmanian devil.
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Wildlife conservation.
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Australia.
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Tasmania.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Banna, Eric, cast
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Parer, David, director
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Parer-Cook, Elizabeth, director
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