They say never smile at a crocodile – and we also advise to never cuddle a Tasmanian devil.
But this little guy hung around for a few seconds after release, and we couldn't pass up the photo opportunity.
The devil in this photo, a one-year-old male named Harlequin Dream, was captured during the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program's (STDP) annual monitoring trip at Wukalina / Mount William in North-East Tasmania earlier this year.
Harlequin Dream posing for a quick selfie before heading back out into the wild
The team microchips every trapped devil, takes measurements, samples, and looks for signs of disease before releasing it back into the wild.
The information gained from these trips allows us to estimate the density of devils in different areas.
We also monitor breeding output and the prevalence of Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). The first cases of DFTD were recorded at Wukalina / Mount William in 1996.
Devils have persisted in the area, however at much reduced population densities and with an age structure skewed towards younger devils.
Thirty-three genetically diverse devils from the insurance population were released into the area in 2017 as part of a trial to test if genetic diversity could be boosted.
The recently published results showed that following the 2017 release, devils at Wukalina / Mount William experienced an increase in genetic diversity, and a decrease in relatedness (Schraven et al. 2025).
Every year STDP carefully collate and analyse data obtained from eight sites that are monitored annually to measure trends at each site, including devil density.
The following graphs show trends in density up to and including 2024. The team are in the midst of monitoring one of their final sites for the year, after which they will collate and analyse all 2025 data.
Find out more about the work STDP is doing to protect this iconic threatened species.