Saving the Tasmanian Devil
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The largest carnivore marsupial, the Tasmanian Devil, is endanged by a terrible facial disfiguring disease. Dorothy Patent traveled to this far corner of the earth to learn why.
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English/Language Arts
Animal names How did the Tasmanian devil get to be called a devil? No one knows for sure, but most likely when early white settlers arrived on the island and camped out, they saw mysterious dark creatures approach the edges of their camps at night and heard them make mysterious unearthly moans and cries. The fact that the devil’s ears can glow red when lit from behind didn’t help either! Think about other animals’ names—love birds, sparrow hawks, mountain lion—how many can you think of and how do you think they got these names? One reason scientists have their own way of naming living things is that the same species can have different names in different places, which can really confuse things.
Social Studies
Native people and wildlife When explorers have visited new lands, they often give the plants and animals they find names. But the native people who are already there and know nature well have already named them. Think about the plants and animals that live in your area and learn how native people described the animals and what uses they may have had of them
STEM
Fighting diseases Think about the ways that have been developed to fight human diseases. How does a vaccine work to protect us? We have drugs we can use that kill different disease-causing bacteria, but many antibiotics are also fed to food animals like cattle. This procedure can help the bacteria become tolerant of the antibiotics and make treatment of human diseases difficult. What is being done to help solve this problem? What are the differences between bacteria and viruses? See if you can find out why viruses are especially difficult to fight with drugs.
Research Skills
Geography
Find Tasmania on the globe and on a map. Where can you find out more about Tasmania? Discuss where and how to find reliable sources about a country and its geography.
Animal names How did the Tasmanian devil get to be called a devil? No one knows for sure, but most likely when early white settlers arrived on the island and camped out, they saw mysterious dark creatures approach the edges of their camps at night and heard them make mysterious unearthly moans and cries. The fact that the devil’s ears can glow red when lit from behind didn’t help either! Think about other animals’ names—love birds, sparrow hawks, mountain lion—how many can you think of and how do you think they got these names? One reason scientists have their own way of naming living things is that the same species can have different names in different places, which can really confuse things.
Social Studies
Native people and wildlife When explorers have visited new lands, they often give the plants and animals they find names. But the native people who are already there and know nature well have already named them. Think about the plants and animals that live in your area and learn how native people described the animals and what uses they may have had of them
STEM
Fighting diseases Think about the ways that have been developed to fight human diseases. How does a vaccine work to protect us? We have drugs we can use that kill different disease-causing bacteria, but many antibiotics are also fed to food animals like cattle. This procedure can help the bacteria become tolerant of the antibiotics and make treatment of human diseases difficult. What is being done to help solve this problem? What are the differences between bacteria and viruses? See if you can find out why viruses are especially difficult to fight with drugs.
Research Skills
Geography
Find Tasmania on the globe and on a map. Where can you find out more about Tasmania? Discuss where and how to find reliable sources about a country and its geography.
© Karen Sterling, 2018 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission
