Tasmanian Devil don't like the hot and humid summer, but they become more active when autumn arrives and the temperature drops. Their appetites increase, and it's around this time of year that you can often see them running around their enclosure during the day. They eat a lot and develop plump bodies.

In this "autumn when the sky is high and the devils grow fat," Tama Zoo has debuted a stuffed Tasmanian Devil. Since animal keeper were in charge of supervision, we took the opportunity to reconfirm the devil's body shape and characteristics through photographs.

This time, we'll be creating a realistic-looking plush toy in a seated position. At our initial meeting, they showed us a sample, but the silhouette looked like a completely different animal. Devils have large heads, and as they age, the muscles around their necks thicken, giving them a stocky build. These muscles support their biting power, which is said to be the greatest among mammals. We discussed how to convey that plump, rounded back view, and since the production staff had never seen a real devil, we asked them to imagine the back view of a "fat Shiba Inu" and use that as a guide for improvement.


The finished stuffed animal. The body lines turned out quite well.

The face is cute despite its slanted eyes, with worried-looking eyebrows and tiny canine teeth peeking out from its mouth. Adding white accents to its chest and hindquarters made it look much more devilish. I decided to make the ears "dark pink on both sides." Devil ears are thin and have sparse fur on both sides, so when sunlight hits them or their body temperature rises, they appear to change from a light pink to a reddish color. These reddish ears are a major characteristic of devils, so I felt I had to represent them.


Actually, this is my second time supervising a product. The previous time, when we created the reclining devil plushie, the biggest challenge was the ear color. I wondered if having both sides pink would look creepy, unnatural, and what shade of pink would look right. I had samples made in pink and black to try them out. Compared to the photo, the black looked unnatural, so I went with pink. I chose a dark pink, imagining a rest after a run.


The key feature of the reclining devil is that you can see the soles of its feet. We had the stitching done in a way that allows you to see the soles of its hind feet.

While Tasmanian Devil are often perceived as scary and ferocious, they are actually cute, gentle, and cautious animals. We hope you can experience the true nature of these devils through these plush toys.

*The new Tasmanian Devil plush toys are now available for purchase at the gift shop inside Tama Zoo.
The price is 2,970 yen including tax.

[Tama Zoo]

(November 27, 2020)