Hey guys, I'm Austin Smith and welcome to Focus on Species.
Today we're going to be talking about an incredibly unique animal called the thylacine.
Believed to have gone extinct in 1936, the thylacine was a large carnivorous marsupial
native to Australia.
It is also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, because of its distinctive stripes,
or as the Tasmanian wolf, because of its resemblance to canines through convergent evolution.
Originally found on the island of New Guinea, continental Australia, and the island of Tasmania,
the thylacine appears in ancient aboriginal rock art.
By the time Europeans began to settle on the continent in the late eighteenth century,
however, the thylacine had gone completely extinct in New Guinea and nearly extinct on
the Australian mainland, almost certainly due to aboriginal hunting practices.
The surviving population of thylacine inhabited the island of Tasmania, along with several
other endemic species there, including the Tasmanian devil.
The first definitive encounter between a European and a thylacine occurred in 1792, but it was
not until the early nineteenth century when the first detailed descriptions of the animal
were produced.
In 1803, the British began settlement of Tasmania and five years later, in 1808, the first known
illustration of a thylacine was published.
Numerous representations were produced during the early nineteenth century, like this painting
from 1817, but they remained inaccurate in many ways.
Eventually, more accurate illustrations began to be produced like this one from 1861.
Similar in appearance to a large, short-haired dog, the thylacine had a long stiff tail that
extended from its body much like that of a kangaroo.
Its color varied from light to dark brown with 13 to 21 dark stripes across its back.
The lifespan of the thylacine was anywhere between five to nine years.
Females had a pouch, like other marsupials, where they would carry their young pups.
In this 1898 photograph of thylacines at the Adelaide Zoo, the female in front can be seen
bearing pups in her distended pouch.
The animal's jaws had the unusual ability to extend open up to 120 degrees and were
filled with sharp teeth for eating prey like wallabies, wombats, and birds.
The thylacine was also able to balance on its hind legs, standing upright and performing
a bipedal hop, much like a kangaroo, for brief periods of time.
The thylacine inhabited the woodlands and coastal scrubland of Tasmania.
It was generally noted to be a shy and secretive creature, a nocturnal hunter, and usually
avoided contact with humans.
As British settlement of Tasmania increased during the nineteenth century, the thylacine
began to be associated with numerous attacks on sheep and later poultry.
This 1823 sketch shows a trap that could be used to lure and capture thylacines.
A bounty was created in an attempt to reduce thylacine numbers as early as 1830.
This 1869 photograph shows a hunter with his trophy.
Relentless targeting by ranchers and bounty hunters continued, causing the species' population
to plummet.
Between 1888 and 1909 the Tasmanian government paid one pound per dead adult thylacine and
ten shillings for a dead pup.
Thousands of the animals were killed during this period.
In 1921, a photograph of a thylacine with a chicken in its mouth helped to further the
animal's reputation as a poultry killer.
Modern research shows that the animal in the photograph was most likely a taxidermy specimen
posed specifically for the portrait.
During the early twentieth century, as thylacine numbers declined, a number of the animals
were kept in zoos in Australia, Europe, and the United States, such as this pair at the
National Zoo in Washington, D.C. photographed in about 1903.
Photographs, as well as a small number of motion picture films, of these captive animals
offer some of the most interesting images of the now presumed extinct creature.
In fact, there are no extant photographs of a living thylacine in the wild.
Eventually, trapping for zoos, changes to the natural environment of Tasmania, competition
for prey from introduced species such as dogs and foxes, disease, and continued bounty hunting
decimated thylacine numbers until the population became unsustainable.
One of the last known wild thylacines was killed in Tasmania in 1930, photographed here
with the farmer who shot the animal, along with his seemingly frightened dog.
The very last known wild individual was killed in 1933, found dead in a snare.
The last captive thylacine was held by the zoo in Hobart, Tasmania until September 7,
1936 when the animal died most likely due to neglect.
Since then several searches have been undertaken in attempts to discover surviving populations
of the thylacine in Tasmania, but with no convincing results that any survive.
Despite this, thousands of sightings of thylacine in Tasmania, as well as in parts of mainland
Australia continue to be reported into the twenty-first century.
While no conclusive evidence has been brought forward for the species continued existence,
there is enough information to suggest that the thylacine may still survive.
During the first decade of the twenty-first century, cloning a thylacine from a preserved
specimen had been discussed.
It is now known, however, that the absence of a suitable surrogate species and the inability
to extract the full genome of a thylacine from the DNA of a museum specimen renders
cloning of the animal almost certainly an impossibility.
In 2005, the compilation of the International Thylacine Specimen Database was completed.
This project has endeavored to catalogue and digitally photograph all known surviving preserved
material of thylacines held by museums, universities, and private collections around the world.
The database includes skins, skeletons, skulls, and taxidermy mounts, as well as four adults
and ten pups preserved in alcohol.
A resource like this stimulates further research about the thylacine and allows us to more
thoroughly understand this fascinating marsupial.
Today, many Australians believe the thylacine may still survive in remote regions of Tasmania
or even the continent and new alleged sightings continue to encourage these hopes.
Regardless of this, the memory of the thylacine remains an important part of Australian culture.
Tasmania's coat arms features two of the animals, and the thylacine continues to appear in popular
references.
The Australian beer, Cascade Premium Lager, even uses images of a thylacine on its bottles
and packaging.
Ultimately, the story of the thylacine should remind us of how critical it is to manage
the world's endangered animals, providing us an example of how easily a species can
be brought to extinction.
If you'd like to learn more about the thylacine, I encourage you to take a look at some of
the books and websites I've listed below.
One of the most thoroughly researched resources on the species is an online exhibit titled
The Thylacine Museum created by natural historian Cameron Campbell.
The Thylacine Museum has a vast collection of information, historic photographs, illustrations,
and all of the known extant film footage of the animals.
Under the history section of the website, alleged sightings of thylacines since their
presumed extinction are discussed and analyzed as well.
I hope you join me again in discovering the rich diversity of our world on the next episode
of Focus on Species.
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below.
Questions are also welcome.
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where I explore our amazing world in adventures to incredible locations.
Thanks for watching.