Thylacine

A Tasmanian tiger, also called Tasmanian thylacine and wolf, was neither a tiger nor a wolf, but a marsupial, and intricately linked to the Tasmanian devil. The last Tasmanian known tiger died in 1936, but hundreds of dubious sightings have propelled investigations into whether the animal still lives.

The thylacine animal or a Tasmanian tiger is to Australia what Sasquatch is to North America—a critter in Animal Kingdom that has commonly been sighted but never really corralled, by deluded amateurs. The difference, to be sure, is that Sasquatch is wholly mythical, while the Thylacine Tiger was a real marsupial that only went extinct around hundred years ago.

The Tasmanian Tiger obtained its name due to the unique tiger-like stripes along its lower back and tail, which were more evocative of a hyena than a big cat. Although this "tiger" was a marsupial, thorough with a characteristic marsupial pouch in which the females gestated their young, and hence was more closely linked to kangaroos, koala bears, and wombats. Another common nickname, the Tasmanian wolf, is slightly more significant, given this animal's affinity to a big dog.

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Quick Facts About Tasmanian Tiger

Scientific Description of Thylacine Animal

Physical Description of Thylacine Animal

Extinction marked the demise of the only member from its family, Thylacinidae, and the globally biggest marsupial (pouched) carnivore. Tasmanian tigers were 39 to 51 inches long, and the tail added 20 to 26 inches to its length and they weigh about 15 to 30 kilograms (33 to 66 lbs). Tasmanian tigers resemble dogs exhibiting a yellowish fur. They have black stripes throughout the body, and a thin, nearly a rodent-like tail. 

Thylacine Habitat

Fossil proofs imply that the modern thylacine — T. Cynocephalus, whose name means "dog-headed pouched one" — appeared about 4 million years ago. Once extensive across Australia, the animal vanished everywhere other than Tasmania about 2,000 years ago, as per the National Museum of Australia (NMA). The disappearance had possibly been due to competition with dingos. Modern people found the animal in Tasmania, thus its name.

Habits of Thylacine

While it had a ferocious appearance, Tasmanian tigers were actually very timid and could be caught without a fight. They would usually die suddenly, possibly from going into shock. 

Researchers have a notion that Tasmanian tigers detect prey by scent and hunted, for the most part, at night. They would hunt alone or in pairs. They were mostly calm creatures, however, when hunting, they would make a yelp-woof noise, much like a small dog.

Diet

Tasmanian tigers were carnivores and thus meat-eaters. They hunted sheep, kangaroos, and wallabies, reportedly, though there is not much known about the eating habits of these animals. These animals are able to open their mouths almost 90 degrees. However, a study in the Journal of Zoology (August 2011) discovered that the Tasmanian tiger wouldn’t have been able to kill huge prey due to its weak jaw. The thylacine animal as believed would have hunted for small marsupials like possums and wallabies.

Offspring

Same as marsupials, Tasmanian tigers consist of pouches. Though their ‘pouch' opening faced their hind legs. In her pouch, a female could transport two to four hairless babies at once. As the babies grew, the pouch enlarged to fit them. After the infant became older, the mother would leave the young in a lair, like a cave or hollow log, to go hunting. Thylacines likely lived 5 to 7 years in the wild, though they lived up to 9 years in captivity.

Tasmanian Tiger Reproduction

Tasmanian wolves were cagey creatures and mating patterns were not well-chronicled. As speculated about their breeding behaviors, it is based on bounty records. It is thought that only one pair of adult male and female Tasmanian wolves were ever seized or killed together. This resulted in the presumption that they were otherwise solitary but only came together for mating. However, it may also suggest espousal.

Although there are comparatively minor data on their behavior, and it’s documented that bounties are used to estimate breeding season. Though “half growns” (and their mothers) were taken every season, the greatest numbers of post-pouch young were taken in May, July, August, and September. The breeding season lasts roughly 4 months and was isolated by a gap of 2 months. It is believed that a female would start breeding in autumn. She could have a second litter of young just after the first was weaned. Some sources even reveal that births may have taken place continuously throughout the year but were more focused on the summer months (December-March). The gestation period is not known, but it is thought that the young (generally 2-4) stayed in the pouch for approximately 3 months and remained with the mother for another 6 months.

Extinct or Not?

It is reckoned that there were about 5,000 thylacines in Tasmania when Europeans settled in the region. In 1830, the bounty was placed on the Thylacine animal by the Van Diemens Land Co., and in 1888 the Tasmanian Parliament introduced a bounty of 1 pound ($1.25) on thylacine animals. The wild's last Tasmanian tiger was killed between 1910 and 1920. In 1936, the last known thylacine—Benjamin, lost life in captivity in the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, Australia. This was only after two months when the Australian government made the animal a protected species.

Conservation Status

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Tasmanian Thylacine (Tasmanian tigers) as extinct. But, there have been a number of spotting of the Tasmanian tiger over the past 100 years or so. For a fact, some of the recent glimpses have propelled an investigation into their current existence.

Once the biggest carnivorous marsupial in Tasmania and Australia, the Tasmanian tiger went the way of the dodo in 1936. Environmental pressure, climatic setting and hunting annihilated Tasmanian tigers, also called thylacines. The last died in 1936 in a zoo, just months after the Tasmanian government lent protection to the species.

Did You Know?

• The thylacine animal wasn't really a Tiger.

• Its scientific name is Thylacinus Cynocephalus, which is derived from Greek, meaning “Dog Headed Pouched One”.

• In modern times, The Tasmanian Tiger was the largest carnivorous marsupial.

•  The Tasmanian Tiger is thought to have been the closest relative to the Tasmanian Devil.

• A mounted, Tasmanian tiger extinct presently travels with the American Museum of Natural History’s Extreme Mammals exhibition. This big carnivorous marsupial is also known as a Tasmanian wolf or tiger.

• The Tasmanian tiger extinction was because of hunting by humans and also competition with other small predators such as dingos.

• It is believed that the introduction of dogs by humans as well as human transgression into their habitat also contributed to their decrease.

Incredible Facts About Tasmanian Tiger

• The Tasmanian thylacine had been the largest carnivorous marsupial in contemporary times.

• It is known as the Tasmanian Tiger owing to the stripes on its lower back.

• These species were very shy and avoided people so were not harmful to us.

• In 1986 it was confirmed that the Tasmanian Tiger had been extinct since 1936 after the last known individual had died in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania.

• Some zoologists thought they are still alive because of droppings that were found but there have been no legally confirmed sightings.

• The Tasmanian Tiger is believed to have been the closest relative to the Tasmanian Wolf.

• The last Tasmanian tiger is "Benjamin". This last known thylacine died in 1936 at Hobart's Beaumaris Zoo.

Conclusion

Tasmanian Thylacine extinction had been due to hunting by humans as well as competition with other small predators like dingos. The introduction of dogs by humans as well as human contravention into their habitat also led to their decline.