Tasmanian devils are famous for their extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. They have the strongest bites per unit body mass of any extant predatory land mammal. Their jaw can open to 75-80 degrees, allowing them to generate a large amount of power to tear meat and crush bones; they can even bite through a thick metal wire. Tasmanian devils may sometimes hunt in groups and eating is a social event ...
for these animals. Communal eating makes much of the noise and it can often be heard several kilometers away. Tasmanian devils feed using twenty physical postures, including their characteristic vicious yawn, and eleven different vocal sounds that animals use to communicate as they feed. They can also stand on their hind legs and push each other's shoulders with their front legs and heads, similar to sumo wrestling. Adult devils may even eat young devils if they are very hungry. It is a common belief that devils will eat humans. While they are known to eat dead bodies, there are prevalent myths that they eat living humans who wander into the bush. Despite outdated beliefs and exaggerations, many devils will remain still when in the presence of a human; some will even shake nervously. They can bite and scratch out of fear when held by a human, but a firm grip will cause them to remain still.
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