Devil at the door: Marsupial’s surprising Sandy Bay house visit captured on camera

The residents of a Sandy Bay home have had an unexpected visitor come knocking – with an iconic Tassie marsupial caught on camera sniffing around their door. WATCH THE VIDEO.

A Tasmanian devil made a surprise visit to tenants of a Sandy Bay property, with their security camera capturing the curious devil scouring their front doorstep along the busy Sandy Bay Road.

The footage, captured earlier in the year, shows a juvenile devil sniffing at the front doorstep of the property.

Landlord Richard Ward said the footage was surprising, given the property’s location.

“My tenant’s passed along the footage and it is cool to see a Tasmanian devil up close like that,” he said.

“When I used to live at the property, I had never seen or imagined that anything like that could happen.”

A Tasmanian devil was caught on a Sandy Bay home's security footage checking out the front entrance. Picture: Supplied

Mr Ward said he had only seen Tasmanian devils on the outskirts of Sandy Bay near the Truganini Track reserve area.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said while sightings of endangered devils in urban areas may be rare, it was not uncommon for them to venture closer to civilisation.

“Tasmanian devils can have large home ranges and moving within their home range can include central areas like Hobart,” she said.

“They will happily make use of human-manipulated habitats to their own benefit, such as using roads to move around, roadkill as an easy meal, and under houses as a bed for the day. It is not unusual to see a devil in Hobart.”

A Tasmanian devil was caught on a Sandy Bay home's security footage checking out the front entrance. Picture: Supplied

The skittish nature of the iconic marsupial in the video, which appeared to be startled by a noise inside the home, is part of the typical behaviour of devils, the NRE spokeswoman said.

“They are typically cryptic, solitary animals and unless they are challenged by another devil, they will quietly go about their business unaware to most people,” she said.

“Members of the public are reminded that Tasmanian devils are a wild animal and should be treated as such.”

Originally published as Devil at the door: Marsupial’s surprising Sandy Bay house visit captured on camera