For the last 3,000 years, the Tasmanian devil has been found only on the island of Tasmania off the coast of Australia, but it once inhabited the entire continent – its bones have been found during the study of ancient Aboriginal settlement sites.

It remains unclear why the Tasmanian devil disappeared from the Australian continent. The most prevalent theory is linked to human activity – ancient hunters gradually wiped out Australia's megafauna, thereby depriving the Tasmanian devil of its food source. Another assumption is that the Australian dingo is to blame, which is a descendant of domesticated dogs from Southeast Asia and arrived in Australia with Asian seafarers 3,500 years ago.