Tasmanian Devil Mascot for Kernel 2.6.29
Linus Torvalds announced at the Australian Linux.conf.au that he wants to make the conference mascot, the Tasmanian Devil (considering that the conference took place in Hobart, Tasmania) the new logo for Linux Kernel 2.6.29.
Called "Tuz" for short, the carnivorous marsupial matched with Tux the penguin's beak was designed partly to draw attention to the endangered Australian species and save it from extinction.
Linus has now made things official through a commit and subsequent blog. The Tasmanian Devil population is currently stricken with the dreadful transmittable Devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) that has decimated its numbers and baffled scientists since the 1990s. The animal known in other contexts as a Warner Brothers cartoon character lives exclusively in the Australian island state of Tasmania.
So Tux has morphed into Tuz for the next release, but retained the penguin beak, perhaps as a way of hiding the ugly tumor, but with an idea of building an eventual immunity to the disease.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
Ignore the troll
Don't like the penguin (or the Tuz?)? It's open-source. Change it for yourself.
branding
If they're gonna dick with the branding, they should move well away from this kiddy stuff.
There's a reason Distro's don't use it.
World class OS represented by a Toys'R'Us type mascot, it's an embarrassment. Saying you work on Linux shouldn't feel like saying you do occupational therapy with the learning disabled, or run a crèche.
Not that I stand in admiration of that mutant window thing...