Animal keeper Ned Sharma finds baby Tasmanian devils a handful, but only in the literal sense.
At 160 days old, Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary's newest baby devils are each about the size of a jam jar, and almost entirely looked after by mum.
With their pink ears, busy whiskered noses and soft foot pads, these babies will show many local visitors to the sanctuary a side to the Tasmanian devil they've never known.
"Tasmanians have [traditionally] held these animals in fairly low regard," Mr Sharma said.
"But I think we're softening, and the display of [young devils] has played a really major role in that."
The positive power of touch
The new babies form the 21st generation of captive-born devils at Trowunna and are part of Australia's longest-running native animal breeding program.
"The first devils were birthed here in 1985, and we haven't missed a single year [since]," Mr Sharma said.
The program is designed to maintain a robust, genetically diverse population of devils.
This has been particularly important since devil facial tumour disease began decimating devil numbers in the wild in the 1990s.
Also important to the devils' conservation is a positive public perception of the species, which, Mr Sharma said, relied on visitors to sanctuaries like Trowunna being able to encounter devils up close.
Getting used to humans
To accustom young devils to attention from visitors, Mr Sharma and other keepers at Trowunna begin interacting with them when they are five months old.
As well as brief day-time handling sessions, this can involve overnight care.
"We're relaxed [outside of work] and they feel that relaxedness in us, they pick up on that," Mr Sharma said.
"Every animal is different. They’ve all got their own personality, but they all end up really tolerant [of human touch]."
Managing negative devil PR
Mr Sharma said it was not always easy to foster positive feelings towards devils from Tasmanians.
It is something he largely puts down to the spread of misinformation about the species over a long period of time.
"A lot of the time we see [devils] in photos with the big mouth open and flashing teeth," he said.
"It doesn't do anything for the animal at all, as far as building a relationship with the public, and as far as conservation goes.
"[So] it's important for us to soften that image as much as we can."
"We use these presentations to the public to do so, and we find [there are] … big sighs coming when those babies are presented, there's no doubt about it."
