Benjamin, the last Tasmanian Tiger or thylacine, died in captivity in The animal was officially declared extinct 35 years ago. The Tasmanian tiger had pouches like kangaroos where they carried their young, but resembled dogs in their physical appearances, with skulls that bore similarities to the grey wolf and the red fox. Known to be a quiet and solitary creature, there have been calls to resurrect the extinct creatures for over two decades.
The Tasmanian Government's Department of Parks, Water, and Environment believe any sort of group would likely suffer from inbreeding, making long-term survival untenable. According to the department , even if a few individuals did exist, it is unlikely that such a tiny population would be able to maintain a sufficient genetic diversity to allow for the species to survive long-term.
A study conducted in had found that the species, alive until , would have struggled to survive even without human contact. The most recent report about a Tasmanian tiger was in July: A man said he'd found a tiger footprint in the mountains near Hobart, Tasmania. Another sighting occurred in February in western Tasmania, about miles north of Hobart. That report described "a large cat-like creature" with black stripe markings on the back of its body.
Since the tiger's extinction in , Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service has investigated more than reported sightings. But none have yielded any definitive proof. Tasmanian tigers resembled a cross between a fox, a wolf, and a large house cat. The creature a marsupial. Like kangaroos and koalas, it carried its young in a belly pouch. Tasmanian tigers grew to between 39 and 51 inches, with a inch tail.
They weighed up to 66 pounds. The tiger's closest living relative is the Tasmanian devil, a carnivore that still occupies the island of Tasmania. Tasmanian tigers were carnivorous: They hunted kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and farm animals like sheep and chickens.
The creatures' taste for sheep brought them into conflict with British settlers that came to Australia in the early s. The tigers disappeared from mainland Australia at least 3, years ago, but they remained plentiful on the island of Tasmania. These animals were shy and easily captured.
Between and , the government paid out bounties for 2, Tasmanian tiger scalps. Around 5, Tasmanian tigers lived on the island when the British settled there, according to the National Museum of Australia. Extinct Animals. Other Extinct Animals. Wikimedia Commons. Now That's Interesting. It is believed that Tasmanian tigers, also known as thylacines, went extinct in the s. However, ongoing research suggests that some Tasmanian tigers may still live in remote areas. There are a few claims that they have been seen for brief moments in the wild in Australia.
Was the Tasmanian tiger dangerous? Tasmanian tigers were actually very timid and shy creatures that feared humans. They may have looked vicious, but they could be captured easily.
Humans used to hunt Tasmanian tigers, which eventually led to their rapid extinction. What caused the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger? Excessive hunting by humans and environmental destruction are thought to cause diseases in Tasmanian species, leading to their extinction. How did the Tasmanian tiger look like? These marsupials resembled short-haired medium-sized dogs. They had subtle stripes at their hindquarters and their lower tails. They were found in different color stripes, such as yellowish brown, light brown and dark brown.
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