Scientist rated toys: Tasmanian Devil

It is impossible to deny the place that the iconic Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) takes in the hearts of Tasmanian’s and visitors alike. Their eerie night time screams spooked early European colonists and the name ‘devil’ has stuck since then. Although they were historically present on mainland Australia, and have been present in the fossil record, the Tasmanian Devil is today only found here and nowhere else in the world. Today the devils are endangered, and threatened by the Devil Facial Tumor Diseases 1 and 2, habitat loss and vehicle collisions.

Young Tasmanian Devil, Source KeresH Many tourists enjoy taking home a devil souvenir from their trip, and for families, a soft toy can be a popular choice. After a morning browsing the stalls of the Salamanca Market in Hobart I came across several that sold soft toys, and marveled at the range of artistic licence that the creators had taken to make toys that stand out to shoppers. I started wondering how they rated for scientific accuracy, and whether scientifically accurate toys would be more expensive. After several evenings of googling Tasmanian devil soft toys (I am now being bombarded with advertising for a range of children’s toys) I came up with a selection of pictures of soft toys (sometimes known as plush or stuffed toys). I asked two researchers who work on the Tasmanian Devil to rate each toy out of 5.0 and describe why they chose that rating. David Hamilton and Sebastien Comte are PhD candidates at the University of Tasmania studying  social networks and the effect of Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) on wild devils.

CANDIDATE #1: Plush, 11 inches, gifts.worldwildlife.org, $55 (part of adoption kit)

David Hamilton: What on earth happened here – this is a total car crash! I’m not sure where to start because it’s almost all wrong! I think it’s literally the first one to have got the patterning (white slash across the chest & rump) completely wrong; & what is going on with the brown on the face/ears!? The feet are ridiculously out of proportion, the whiskers are the wrong colour (should be black) and the body shape is just weird. I would have expected better from WWF. The 0.1 is purely because it’s marginally better than Warner Brothers version by being a quadruped.  0.1

Sebastien Comte: A cross between a cane toad and a bat… and very expensive! 1.0

Average score: 0.55

CANDIDATE #2: Mother and baby Tasmanian Davils, Ebay, $30 AUD

David Hamilton: An odd looking attempt at a devil… The head proportion is all wrong, and the ears are a bit too pointy. The bicuspid canines inaccurate too; devils do have sharp bicuspid molars though! 1.0

Sebastien Comte: They have no foot, the mouth is really badly done with rodent like incisive. I like how they look friendly and happy though.. 2.0

Average score: 1.50

CANDIDATE #3: 12cm Tasmanian Devil plush toy, devilsden.com.au, $5.95

David Hamilton: Bit of a mess – especially the mouth (though admittedly, this could be an effect of devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) – but that seems a bit full on for a kids toy…). I mean, they have got a couple of little things right, like an attempt at a hairless ring around the eye, but it’s still not great… 1.5

Sebastien Comte: For the size the overall impression is not too bad. There are no feet and the mouth is really bad though. 2.0

Average: 1.75

CANDIDATE #4: Australian made Tasmanian Devil stuffed toy 28cm, stuffedwithplushtoys.com.au, $32.95

David Hamilton: I’m probably purely giving this points because it’s better than Candidate #1 (and the 1st one that’s been clearly Aussie made, which is nice). 2.0

Sebastien Comte: Simple but efficient. A bit expensive compared to better looking ones. 3.0

Average score: 2.5

CANDIDATE #5 Cuddlekins Tasmanian Devil 18cm, www.plushzoo.com.au, $11.95 + $9.95 shipping

David Hamilton:Far too bear-esque – body/head shape is all wrong! Ears a bit too red, but this is a common thing in devil toys & I accept that they’re trying to accentuate the feature, which is a prominent one in devils. 2.0

Sebastien Comte: It looks more like a bear than a devil. Devils don’t have white tip on the tail. 2.0

Average score: 2.0

CANDIDATE #6: Mini Tasmanian Devil Plush Toy, 10cm, www.plushzoo.com.au, $8.95 + $9.95 shipping

David Hamilton: This one is a touch better, though still not a very accurate devil. It looks a bit like a re appropriated cat soft toy… The eyes are far too low; they should be above the nose. Extra star for price compared to the last one! 2.0

Sebastien Comte: The feet are really bad but the rest of the body looks ok. The head is a bit too round and the ears are white instead of red-ish. 3.0

Average score: 2.5

CANDIDATE #7: Plush Tasmanian Devil, shop.zoo.org.au, $34.00

David Hamilton: Not disastrous, though a bit simplistic for the price I’d say. I don’t like the mouth… 2.5

Sebastien Comte: Well, a vampire devil with protruding teeth… The whole mouth is terrible and the feet are bad too. 2.0

Average score: 2.25

CANDIDATE #8: Tazzy Tasmanian Devil Plush Toy 15cm, www.plushzoo.com.au, $13.95 + $9.95 shipping

David Hamilton: Looks a bit like a wombat with devil colouration! Overall colouration is pretty good, though the white patches above the eyes are very large – almost panda-like! Snout definitely a bit too rounded. Far from the worst effort though. 3.0

Sebastien Comte: It’s like way too round, especially the head, and the feet are really bad. It would still work for a kid though. 3.0

Average score: 3.0

CANDIDATE #9: Antics Wildlife Devil 20cm, toyco.co.nz, $18.39

David Hamilton: Quite canine-like, especially in the sitting pose it’s in & more angular face. Teeth a bit vampire-y too! 3.0

Sebastien Comte: It looks cute for a kid, nice try on putting some details (teeth and light spot above the eye) only three fingers though… 4.0

Average score: 3.5

CANDIDATE #10: Tasmanian Devil stuffed animal soft plush toy 23cm, ebay, $19.95m+ $7.95 shipping

David Hamilton: I don’t mind this one too much, & the fur looks like a nice texture (devil fur is surprisingly soft, if a bit course). Patches of less hair are a bit too light, and the ears should be a different, pinker, color to the other patches. 3.5

Sebastien Comte: I like this one. The bad points are the lack of details on the mouth and bad whiskers. There is only 4 fingers on front pawns instead of 5. 3.0

Average score: 3.25

CANDIDATE #11: Deluxe Tasmanian Devil Plush, cherishtoystasmania.com.au, $56.00

David Hamilton: Quite canine-like, especially in the sitting pose it’s in & more angular face. When devils sit on their haunches, it’s often to grasp food or clean themselves, so they’d be more likely to have their paws up and their back feet flat on the ground. 3.5

Sebastien Comte: For the price they could have done better I think. It looks way too much like a dog puppy in a devil costume. I put 3 for the price. 3.0

Average score: 3.25

CANDIDATE #12: Ebony Tasmanian Devil With Joey Plush Toy 38cm, www.plushzoo.com.au, $34.95 + $9.95 shipping

David Hamilton: I quite like this one too, though it is possibly a bit too bear-like. Good overall shape & coloring. Feet are a bit weird, but I accept that they’re difficult to replicate in a soft toy! 4.0

Sebastien Comte: Nice looking toy. The joey could be a little better but it still works for me. I like the serious of the face of the mother but the whiskers could be better. 4.0

Average score: 4.0

CANDIDATE #13: Tasmanian Devil stuffed animal plush toy Dinky Di, stuffedwithplushtoys.com.au, $19.95

David Hamilton: OK, I like the head shape generally, but the tail is a bit too long. Could almost turn this one into a quoll with a change of patterning and making the snout a bit more pointy. But, I mean, devils are closely related to quolls, so it’s not too harsh a criticism. 4.0

Sebastien Comte: It’s not bad, the ears are a bit red but it’s ok. The tail is a bit long but overall it’s a devil. 4.0

Average score: 4.0

CANDIDATE #14: Diego Tasmanian Devil Plush Toy 23cm, www.plushzoo.com.au, $19.95 + $9.95 shipping

David Hamilton: This is probably one of the best ones I’ve seen. I’m assuming it’s meant to be a young devil, so the slightly more pointed snout is fine. Also like that the snout coloration is just slightly lighter, which is more accurate than the previous 2. Devil snouts are just a bit lighter than the rest of their body because they have less hair there (partly to accommodate their whiskers). They also have a slightly lighter patch above their eyes for the same purpose, which this toy has attempted to replicate (though yellow is probably the wrong color choice). Would like to see some whiskers. 4.5

Sebastien Comte: I really like this one, it reminds me of the young devil I catch in the traps. Nice details of the light patches of whiskers above the eyes. The head is the best of all the toys. 5.0

Average score: 4.75

BONUS ROUND: Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil – 30cm, catch.com.au, $14.90

David Hamilton: I’m not even going to dignify this with a review! There is so little about the Warner Bros depiction of the Tasmanian devil that is correct… 0.00

Sebastien Comte: I love TAZ! This one is really fun and would be great for a young kid. It’s hard to compare with the others though because I don’t judge on the resemblance with a real devil. 5.00

Average score: 2.50

The results!

Scientific accuracy rating plotted against price of toys referenced in text. Toys are grouped by size (Large = >20 cm, orange squares, Small =10-19 cm, green squares, unknown size, purple circles). I have no idea what happened to the key in this one, good thing this is not being peer-reviewed *shakes head*.

After making a simple scatter diagram it looks like devil soft toys do increase in scientific accuracy and price until the $20 point after which price does not necessarily mean better accuracy. Another thing to note is that the only Australian made devil was not the most scientifically accurate. Some better stats could be done with a larger number of soft toys, but this should be a handy tool for would-be scientifically-minded shoppers.

Next up on ‘Soft toy science rated’: the marsupial who produces square poo

If soft toys aren’t your favorite way to spend your money you can donate to the Save the Tasmanian Devil program here.  All prices were correct at time of writing. If I missed your favorite devil toy,  let me know and it might get included in future ratings.