Fifth Grade
Worksheets
Tasmanian Devils
Be warned! There are devils living in Tasmania! These devils aren't after your soul, though. They are small animals living on this island southeast of Australia. Their bad temper and screeching screams led European settlers to call them devils. When fighting for a mate or a meal, they bare their teeth, lunge at each other, and growl wildly. The inside of their ears turns bright red!
Tasmanian devils are mammals. They have black fur. Sometimes, they have white patches around their chests and rumps. Tasmanian devils are stocky animals with a shape similar to a baby bear. They weigh from nine to twenty-six pounds. Adults grow to twenty to thirty inches long. Devils are the largest meat-eating marsupials. Marsupials are mammals, too. A female Tasmanian devil gives birth to about thirty babies at a very early stage. The babies are about as big as raisins. The babies are called joeys. The joeys must climb into the mother's pouch. She only has four nipples. The first four joeys to make it into the pouch will live. The others will die. She carries the joeys inside her pouch for several more months. Kangaroos, koalas, and wombats are also marsupials.
