Tasmanian Devils Vegemite and Toast have left the Australian Reptile Park to go to their new home at Aussie Ark, where they will join the breeding program.
The 21-month-old sisters were hand-raised by the Park’s Birds and Mammals keeper Lauren Hunter before joining the Park’s exhibition in February 2023.
“I raised these ‘girls’ for about five months at home,” Hunter said.
“When I first got them they were around 250 grams- and now they’re around six kilos!”
Hunter visits and cuddles the devils every day so it was bitter-sweet when she helped Aussie Ark wildlife ranger Adam Mowbray health check the pair before they started their drive up to the Ark.
“These two Devils have been earmarked for their great genetics and that is the baseline for our world-renowned Tasmanian Devil breeding program,” Mowbray said.
Vegemite and Toast will trade their life in the spotlight for a more “wild” life in the Barrington Tops, joining a large enclosure with two other females and four male devils ahead of this year’s breeding season which begins next month.
Hunter said it was sad to say goodbye but the joeys were born to play their role in saving their species.
“Up at Aussie Ark they’re going to have an amazing life,” she said.
“It’s the closest thing they’ll get to having a wild life and I’m hoping I’ll see them with babies in the future.”
Absolutely fantastic! xxxx