Mentioning Thylacines is a little like mentioning the Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster except they went extinct in the last century and we have videos.
I learned of the Thylacine at the museum in Hobart where there was a video playing of this strange creature. An example of convergent evolution, it was doglike but not quite, a marsupial. It was smaller than a German Shepherd but with a stiff tail that was thick at its base, short hair, a low hock on its hind legs, and when it yawned, its mouth opened wider than a mouth should open. Across its back and bottom were stripes that earned it the name "Tasmanian Tiger." It was called the "Tasmanian wolf" too. I stroked the pelts that were on display. The creature was mesmerizing as it paced back and forth in its cage, the last Thylacine in captivity and the last known living Thylacine. Sadly, in 1936, it was locked out of its shelter one cold night and died of exposure.
And that was the end of the Thylacine, the largest carnivorous marsupial, or was it?
Thylacines were native to the Australian mainland, Tasmania, and New Guinea. They had become extinct in all but Tasmania when British settlers put bounties on them, fearing they would prey on livestock. Its main diet seemed to be pademelons and it is disputed how large a prey it actually sought. Oddly, when asked to turn them in, it appeared some people had been keeping them as pets.
Gone, but over the decades there were occasional sightings of something, and now with the help of trail cameras, maybe the Thylacine will be the next rediscovered species.
The Thylacine Awareness Group of Australia actively searches for evidence of the Thylacine and has recorded over 7,000 sightings. Last week, they were showing experts this latest camera footage, above. What do you think?
References
Thylacine - Wikipedia
Thylacine Awareness Group of Australia
Images
First image from Pixabay, videos from YouTube.
Enjoy!
