The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a small Oceanian marsupial. It is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon (Xbox) and Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game.
Description[]
The Tasmanian devil is the largest living member of the family Dasyuridae, a group of largely insectivorous or carnivorous marsupials. It is a stocky animal comparable in size to a small dog, with a large head that produces one of the strongest bite forces of any modern land mammal. Males are larger than females, having a body length of around 25 inches and weighing up to 8kg. The Tasmanian devil gets its name from its loud, screeching call and ferocity whilst feeding.
Once found across mainland Australia, the Tasmanian devil is now largely confined to the island of Tasmania, although reintroductions in New South Wales are ongoing. A nocturnal species, the Tasmanian devil can hunt a variety of prey, using deceptively fast speed to catch them, although it typically prefers carrion and can eat up to 40% of their body weight. Although usually solitary, individuals may gather to feed. The Tasmanian devil is threatened for a number of reasons, with one of the biggest threats being an aggressive cancer known as Devil Facial Tumour Disease, which has caused a population decrease of over 80%.
Zoo Tycoon (Xbox)[]
The Tasmanian devil is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection, the updated version of Zoo Tycoon (Xbox). It is adoptable when a zoo reaches a fame level of 18.
The Tasmanian devil is a Mini-Exhibit species and lives in the Arid Rock mini-exhibit.
Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game[]
The Tasmanian devil is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game and was introduced in the New Shores expansion pack. It is classed as a main species and, as a result, can be adopted from the animal exchanged during the summer months and has its own meeple. It is classed as a Level 3 marsupial.
The Tasmanian devil is a Dry Forest animal. As a Level 3 species, it can only be adopted if all other animals are happy enough and if there are a set number of marsupials already exhibited. Like all Level 3 species, the Tasmanian devil has a reintroduction program and infants can be released into the wild.
Inclusion[]
Although not part of the initial roster for New Shores, the Tasmanian devil was initially considered for the Additional Species Pack that would come bundled with it. During New Shores' Kickstarter campaign, backers were allowed to nominate three species to be included in the mini-pack. The Tasmanian devil was one of 54 species to be selected for the final poll to decide the eight species included in the Additional Species Pack. It ultimately received 159 votes, which was only enough to finish in 20th place and subsequently was not included in the mini-pack.
Despite this, the Tasmanian devil would get a second chance to be included, this time in New Shores itself, in a bracket vote alongside fifteen other highly requested animals. It subsequently reached the final, having won the first round against the Eurasian Lynx with 295 votes, the Quarterfinals against the African Painted Dog and Ring-Tailed Lemur with 214 votes and the Semifinals against the North American Beaver with 251 votes. In the final vote, it faced off against the Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat and, by a margin of only thirteen points, won a closely contested vote with a total of 386 points. As such, it was included as the last stretch goal for New Shores, which was reached in the last 41 minutes of the campaign, confirming the Tasmanian devil's inclusion in New Shores.
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