One thing that I have found that is not usually documented is that Tasmanian Devils bark and yes it is a similar sound to a dog. However from my observations with the Boomajaril Devils the bark seems to reflect one emotion and that is excitement and joy.

At Boomajaril the sounds of devils barking is as common as the aggressive defensive sounds. Each devil has a distinctive bark that is unique to their personality. We usually can recognise which devil is coming by their bark before they come on the verandah and we make visual identification.

We have also noticed that the male devils are more vocal with the barking than the females, however it really depends on the individual personality of the devil. At Boomajaril each devil approaches the front door differently, some get extremely excited and bark madly, bang and try to climb up the door to get your attention. Others bang on the door once and wait, some just bark to let you know they are there and the others just sit silently at the door waiting paitently. However when we talk to them and they see us the reaction is pretty much the same. They bark madly and get so excited. We give them their chicken wing or leg through the door and they bark all the way into the bush and if they go under the house you can hear them continuously barking as they eat it.

We've also noticed that they use the bark as a form of greeting between devils. We would watch two Devils come up on the verandah at the same time. They would immediately give a single bark both take a piece of chicken and go their separate ways. This behavour was also observed when we set up a carcass for the documentary. The first devil to approach the carcass barked as if pleased with his find. When another devil approached there was a single bark of acknowledgement. There was a bit of screaming and aggression as the second devil got too close to where the first devil was feeding, this seemed to be a display of dominance. However when both devils started feeding on the carcass they began barking again until more devils tried to move in and they went through the process again.

There are many different versions of the bark and there is no doubt it's are a form of communication, at times when we are talking to the devils their bark varies so much in pitch and sound that we could swear they were trying to talk to us.

At Boomajaril the bark is a positive sound and reflects joy and while they are barking we know our devils are healthy and happy and that can only be a good thing.