The animal was rare (and by today's standards vulnerable) even when the first Europeans arrived in Tasmania. It was first described in 1808, 5 years after first settlement of the island.[3] They numbered as little as 3,000 at first settlement, with the heaviest distributions in the North East, North West and North Midlands regions of the state.
The Thylacine resembled a large, short-haired dog with a stiff tail, which smoothly extended from the body like that of a kangaroo. It was about 100 to 130 cm long including its tail of about 50 to 65 cm, and had a very large gape. It was a yellowish-brown in colour with sixteen to eighteen dark stripes on its back and rump, hence its common name: "Tasmanian Tiger". The Thylacine's pouch opened to the rear of its body. In at least two male specimens a scrotal pouch, unique amongst marsupials, was also documented.
One unusual feature of the Thylacine was the ability to open its jaws to a surprising extent. Although it is most unlikely that the gape was as wide as some reports have stated (~180°), it was still the widest of any known mammal. This capability is captured in part of a short black-and-white film sequence dating from 1936 which shows a captive Thylacine in a zoo.
Like their relative the Devil, the tiger is believed to have possessed an acute sense of smell which enabled it to track prey for many miles.[4]
Those that saw the animal in the wild are said to have described it having a strong and distinctive smell.[5] It is possible that the animal, like its relative the Tasmanian Devil, gave off a smell when agitated.
Ecology and behaviour
Surprisingly little is known about the Thylacine. A few observations were made from captivity, but only limited or anecdotal research of the animal in the wild.
It is said that the Thylacine preferred to inhabit dry eucalyptus forests, wetlands, and grasslands in continental Australia. Fossils dating back 2,200 years ago and Indigenous rock paintings indicate that the Thylacine lived throughout mainland Australia and New Guinea. A mummified carcass was discovered in a cave in the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia, dated to around 3,300 years old provided physical proof of the animal's existence on the mainland.[6]
Scientists generally believe it became extinct in mainland Australia about 2000 years ago (and possibly earlier in New Guinea) attributed to competition from invasive Dingos. Evidence to this effect comes through the discovery of thylacine fossils in close proximity to Dingo fossils. It is believed that the two species may have even fought for the same prey. Other researchers point to indigenous humans, who adopted the Dingo as a hunting companion, as playing a part in the mainland extinction.
Tasmania
In Tasmania it preferred the woodlands of the Midlands and Coastal Heath, which became the primary focus of British settlers seeking grazing properties for their sheep.
Like the Tasmanian Devil and its marsupial prey, the Thylacine was a nocturnal and crepuscular hunter, spending the days in a nest of twigs and bark in small caves or hollow tree trunks. It typically retreated to the hills and forest during the day for shelter and hunted in the open heath at night.
Breeding season was in winter and spring and a female would produce up to 4 cubs (typically 2 or 3 per litter), carrying the young in a pouch for up to 3 months and protecting them until at least half grown. Despite numerous attempts by zookeepers, thylacines never bred in captivity.
Diet
The Tasmanian Tiger ate a variety of foods but mainly meat because it was a carnivore. Analysis of the skeletal frame and observation in captivity points to it singling out a target animal and doggedly pursued the target until it was exhausted. Although some studies believe that the animal may have hunted in small family groups, with the male lying in waiting to ambush while a female herded the prey in the male's general direction.[3] (Guiler)
Prey included kangaroos, wallabies, birds and various small animals. After European settlement the Thylacine was believed to have also opportunistically preyed upon farmers' sheep and poultry. In captivity, Thylacines were fed dead rabbits and wallabies, which they devoured entirely, as well as beef and mutton.
Extinction
In Tasmania, where there were no Dingos, the Thylacine survived until the 1930s before it was wiped out. The extinction is popularly attributed to the relentless efforts of farmers, Tasmanian government and privately-funded bounty hunters (with over 2,000 scalps officially taken between 1888 to 1912) and, in its final years, collectors for overseas museums. However, in reality there were most likely multiple factors, including competition with wild dogs (introduced by settlers) [1] and a distemper-like disease (that also affected many captive specimens at the time) which was believed to have led to a sharp drop in the population around 1908, when far fewer bounties were taken. In any case, the animal had become extremely rare in the wild by the 1930s.
Farmer Wilf Batty shot and photographed the last known wild Thylacine (believed to be a male) in 1930 in Mawbanna, in the North East of the state.[7]
The last captive (captured in 1924 with mother and siblings), referred to as Benjamin (although it was a female specimen) later died in the Hobart Zoo on 1936-09-07 (now known as Threatened Species Day in Australia)[8]. She is believed to have died from neglect, suffering exposure to the cold and no access to sheltered sleeping quarters.[9] A short black-and-white film was made of the captive pacing back and forth in its enclosure. The photographer was bitten on the buttock whilst taking the photograph. Official protection of the species by the Tasmanian government was belatedly introduced in 1938.
The results of various searches indicate a strong possibility of survival of the species in Tasmania into the 1960s. Searches by Dr. Eric Guiler (considered a leading authority on the species) and David Fleay in the north-west of Tasmania found possible footprint evidence and heard presumed vocalisations as well as anecdotal evidence from people presumed to have sighted the animal but no conclusive evidence of continued existence.
The Thylacine held the status of Endangered Species until 1986, when it was declared extinct by international standards.[2] Since 1936 there remains no conclusive evidence of the species' continued existence.
Sightings
Although the Thylacine is formally extinct, many people believe the animal still exists. Sightings of this cryptid are regularly claimed both Tasmania and other parts of Australia. Thylacine researchers Buck and Joan Emburg of Tasmania report 360 Tasmanian and 269 mainland post-extinction 20th century sightings[10] whilst the Australian Rare Fauna Research Association reports 3800 mainland sightings on file[11]
Of the mainland sightings, by far the most frequent, along with the Gippsland phantom cat, are in the Gippsland region of southern Victoria.[12] There have been several alleged photos produced as evidence, but many of these are believed to have been feigned.
In contrast, sightings of the Red Fox (first introduced as early as 1864 and later around 2000) in Tasmania are taken very seriously. This is despite only minimal evidence (4 carcasses, a scat sample and possible footprints since 2001) of the species existence in the state.[13][14] While the Fox Free Tasmanian Taskforce receives continued government funding, all funding for the searches of the indigenous Tasmanian Tiger has ceased. The elusiveness of the fox in the vast Tasmanian wilderness gives some hope of the continued existence of the Thylacine.
Despite many sightings being instantly dismissed, some alleged sightings have generated a large amount of publicity. In 1982 a researcher with the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hans Narding, observed at night what he believed to be a Thylacine for three minutes at a site near Arthur River in the state's North West. The sighting began an extensive year-long government-funded search.[15]
In January 1995, a Parks and Wildlife officer reported observing a Thylacine in the Pyengana region of North Eastern Tasmania in the early hours of the morning. No trace of it was found.[16]
In February 2005 Klaus Emmerichs, a German tourist, claimed to have taken digital photographs of a Thylacine he saw near the Lake St Clair National Park, but the authenticity of the photographs has not been established.[17] The photos were not published until April 2006 (and then, only in Tasmania and Europe), fourteen months after the sighting. Prior to this the Sydney Morning Herald's photographic managing editor Mike Bowers produced a deliberately feigned image which demonstrated how easily a feigned image could be produced[18]. This may have also been in response to Emmerichs' claim that his photos were stored on the internal memory chip of his Ricoh camera as Ricoh has since confirmed that the photos cannot have been uploaded from externally[19].
Rewards
In 1984, Ted Turner offered a $100,000 reward for proof of the continued existence of the Thylacine. However, a letter sent in response to an inquiry by Thylacine-searcher Murray McAllister in 2000 indicated that the reward had been withdrawn.[20]
In March 2005, Australian news magazine The Bulletin, as part of its 125th anniversary, offered a $1.25 million reward for the safe capture of a live Thylacine. When the offer closed at the end of June 2005 no one had produced any evidence of the animal's existence. An offer of $1.75 million has subsequently been offered by a Tasmanian tour operator, Stewart Malcolm, but this is also unclaimed.
Modern research and projects
Cloning project
The Australian Museum in Sydney began a project in 1999 reminiscent of the science fiction movie Jurassic Park. The goal was to use genetic material from specimens taken and preserved in the early 20th century to clone new individuals and restore the species from extinction. In late 2002 the researchers had some success as they were able to extract usable DNA from the specimens. On 2005-02-15, the museum announced that it was stopping the project after tests showed the specimens' DNA had been too badly degraded by the ethanol preservative. In May 2005, Professor Michael Archer, the University of New South Wales Dean of Science, former director of the Australian Museum and evolutionary biologist, announced that the project was being restarted by a group of interested universities and a research institute.
The International Thylacine Specimen Database (ITSD) was completed in April 2005 and is the culmination of a four year research project to catalogue and digitally photograph, if possible, all the known surviving specimen material held within museum, university and private collections of the Thylacine.
Cultural references
The Thylacine has been used extensively as a symbol of Tasmania. The animal is featured on the official Tasmanian Coat of Arms. It is used in the official logos of Tourism Tasmania (using the mystery of the tiger to draw tourists) and the Launceston City Council. The plight of the Thylacine was featured in a campaign for The Wilderness Society titled we used to hunt Thylacines. The animal is featured on Cascade Brewery beer products and television advertisements. In video games, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger stars in his own trilogy and Tiny Tiger is a notable antagonist in the Crash Bandicoot series. The animal is the mascot for Tasmanian Tigers state cricket team.
See also
References
- ^ Groves, Colin (2005-11-16). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds) Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4, 23.
- ^ a b World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). Thylacinus cynocephalus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 2006-07-15. Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as extinct
- ^ a b http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/infosheets/10283.pdf
- ^ http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-3-16/39380.html
- ^ http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/site/articleIDs/753DC4FC8CA56F08CA256FC600203B4B
- ^ http://nma.gov.au/media/media_releases_index/2004_06_16/
- ^ http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/additional/persecution/image_6.htm
- ^ National Threatened Species Day home page
- ^ http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/additional/benjamin/Benjamin_1.htm
- ^ http://www.tasmanian-tiger.com/sightings.htm
- ^ http://www.arfra.org/thylacines.html
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/Tassie-Tiger/Thyla-seen-near-CBD/2003/08/18/1061059765660.html
- ^ http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the-fox-and-the-sceptic/
- ^ http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/LBUN-5K46YA?open]
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/Tassie-Tiger/Mystery-that-burns-so-bright/2002/09/25/1032734210053.html
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/Tassie-Tiger/New-bush-sighting-puts-tiger-hunter-back-in-business/2002/09/25/1032734216943.html
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Tourist-claims-to-have-snapped-Tasmanian-tiger/2005/03/01/1109546854027.html?oneclick=true
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/03/25/1111692630684.html
- ^ http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php/weblog/comments/tiger-photos-the-real-story/
- ^ http://romeo.pembrokesc.vic.edu.au/home/tiger/expd5.html
- Guiler, E. (1985). Thylacine: The Tragedy of The Tasmanian Tiger. Oxford Uni. Press.
- Guiler, E. & Godard, P. (1998). Tasmanian Tiger: A lesson to be learnt. Abrolhos Publishing.
- Guiler, E. R., 1961a. Breeding season of the Thylacine.
- Guiler, E. R., 1961b. The former distribution and decline of the Thylacine.
- Guiler. E. R., 1966. In pursuit of the Thylacine.
- Jones, Menna (1997). Ecology. Character displacement in Australian dasyurid carnivores: size relationships and prey size patterns
- Lord, C., 1927. Existing Tasmanian marsupials. pg 17-24.
- Lowry, David C (1967). Discovery of a Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) Carcase In a Cave Near Eucla, Western Australia. Helictite
- Park, A. (1986). A Tasmanian Tiger Extinct or Merely Elusive. Aust Geographic. Vol. 1 No 3.
- Pearce, R (1976). Thylacines in Tasmania. Australian Mammal Society Bulletin. 3: 58
- Smith, S. J. (1980). The Tasmanian Tiger. NPWS, Tas.
External links
Cloning project