Tasmanian Tiger
The Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine or Tasmanian wolf, is not actually a member of the cat family (tiger) or the dog family (wolf) but is a type of marsupial (the female carries her young in a pouch like a kangaroo). Its scientific name is Thylacinus cynocephalus which literally means "pouched dog with wolf's head" or more accurately, "pouched thing with dog's head".
The Tasmanian tiger is a carniverous (meat-eating) marsupial. Once common in Tasmania, it is now labeled as extinct. During the 1930s, the last thylacine to be killed in the wild was shot and the last known Tamanian tiger died in captivity.
The above picture and all the black and white images on this webpage are courtesy of wikimedia commons.
The Tasmanian tiger is a carniverous (meat-eating) marsupial. Once common in Tasmania, it is now labeled as extinct. During the 1930s, the last thylacine to be killed in the wild was shot and the last known Tamanian tiger died in captivity.
The above picture and all the black and white images on this webpage are courtesy of wikimedia commons.
Tasmanian tiger or thylacine
Tasmanian tiger facts #1
Tasmanian tigers were also known as:
- thylacine
- Tasmanian wolf
- marsupial wolf
- Van Dieman's land tiger
- Tasmanian dingo
- pouched hyena
- zebra wolf
What does a Tasmanian tiger look like?
.jpg "Thylacine")
The Tasmanian tiger is a sandy-colored, dog-like marsupial with a rigid tail and 13 to 19 stripes between its shoulder and the base of its tail. The male has a longer, thinner face than the female. The average length for an adult thylacine is about 5 feet but the thylacine can be up to six feet in a straight line measure from its nose to the tip of its tail. Its hindfeet each have four pads and its forefeet, five. The female has a pouch which opens towards the rear, unlike most marsupials, whose pouches open forwards.
Male and Female Tasmanian Tigers
A photo of a male (background) and female (foreground) Tasmanian tigers in the Hobart Zoo. Notice how the male is bigger than the female.
Tasmanian tiger facts #2
The pattern of stripes on the Tasmanian tiger's back is unique like each person's fingerprints.
Where did Tasmanian tigers live?
Here's a map of Australia
The Tasmanian tiger once inhabited most of Tasmania (the southern-most island state of Australia) apart from the southwest. From fossil evidence, bones and rock paintings, sceintists have found that thylacines once lived in places other than Tasmania: mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea. In 1965 a mummified carcass of a Tamanian tiger was found in a cave on the Nullarbor Plains. The cave was relatively cool and dry (like Egyptian tombs) enabling this carcass to be preserved intact for maybe thousands of years.The aboriginal rock painting shown here was found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and is possibly of a thylacine and her cub.
Tasmanian tiger facts #3
A Tasmanian tiger could open its mouth unusually wide - up to 120°.
What did the Tasmanian tiger eat?
It is said that the Tasmanian tiger liked only freshly killed meat. Its diet consisted of mainly wallabies and pademelons, although some other birds and mammals were also eaten. It was a predator and with its stripes giving it great camouflage, it would lie in wait for its prey. According to reports, a thylacine would track its prey either singly or in small family groups. It had a good sense of smell and although it moved more slowly than most of its prey, its stamina enabled it to catch even these faster animals. Thylacine eating
Historic video (only 8 seconds long) of a thylacine eating in capitivity - 1911.
curated content from YouTube
Tasmanian Tiger Coloring Pages
Tasmanian Tiger / Thylacine Colouring Pages
www.gratis-malvorlagen.de/Tiere/40/Gemischt1_HFB-0431/
Click on the picture on this page to get a picture of a Tasmanian tiger to color
www.kostenlose-ausmalbilder.de/vorlage/gallery/tasmanische-tiger426.php
A cartoon Tasmanian Tiger coloring page
www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/marsupial/Tastiger.shtml
A labeled picture of the Tassie Tiger to print
zoonewsdigest.blogspot.com/2010/04/zoo-news-digest-12th-17th-april-2010.html
Search for thylacinus and click on the picture for a sitting thylacine
Links checked Mar 2012
The sad history of thylacine extinction
- 200-2000 years ago: Thylacine disappeared from Papua New Guinea and mainland Australia (possibly due to climate change or from preditors such as the dingo).
- 1803: Europeans first migrated to Tasmania.
- 1808: George Harris, surveyor general of Tasmania published the first scientific description of the thylacine, naming it Thylacinus cynocephalus.
- 1824: sheep grazing begins in eastern Tasmania. The sheep were easy targets for the thylacines.
- 1824: A large pastoral company in north-west Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land Company) paid a reward for every Tasmanian tiger killed on its property. They paid more than 80 bounties.
- 1888 - 1909: The Tasmanian government paid 2072 £1 bounties for thylacine scalps.
- 1910: Tasmanian tiger numbers were critically low and live Tassy tigers were worth much more than dead ones.
- 1928: A proposal by the Tasmanian Advisory Committee for Native Fauna that the Tasmanian tiger be protected was opposed by landowners and was consequently defeated.
- 1930: The last Tasmanian tiger to be shot in the wild was killed.
- 1936: Thylacines were declared a protected / endangered species.
- 1936: The last captive Tasmanian tiger died in the Hobart zoo.
- 1986: The Tasmanian tiger was declared extinct.
Tasmanian tiger facts #5
The last captive Tasmanian tiger died on September the 7th 1936.
Tasmanian tiger facts #6
The last Tassy tiger in the Hobart zoo was most probably female although there are many stories around saying that it was a male named Benjamin.
The Hobart Zoo
formerly called the Beaumaris Zoo
This is a picture of the restored gates of the zoo where the last Tasmanian Tiger died.
Show your love for thylacines
For you or another animal-lover
I Love Thylacines Tote Bag
Price: $14.99 
I Love Thylacines Messenger Bag
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I Love Thylacines Kids Baseball Jersey
Price: $16.99
I Love Thylacines Women's Cap Sleeve T-Shirt
Price: $18.99
I Love Thylacines Ceramic Travel Mug
Price: $19.99
Teach Others About Thylacines
Give a thylacine gift
... and direct them to this webpage!
Thylacine Trucker Hat
Price: $12.29
Thylacine Tote Bag
Price: $19.99
Thylacine Journal
Price: $11.49
Thylacine Wolf Dog T-Shirt
Price: $20.99
Tasmanian tiger facts #7
No thylacines were ever bred in captivity.
Tasmanian tiger sightings
Several searches for the Tasmanian tiger have been funded over the years. But although thousands of dollars have been spent, no conclusive evidence has yet been discovered. Thousands of sightings have been recorded and some of them even filmed. Many of these sightings have been on the Australian mainland rather than in Tasmania. Check out these videos. Do you think any of these could be our elusive Tassy tiger?
curated content from YouTube
curated content from YouTube
curated content from YouTube
curated content from YouTube
So what do you reckon?
Is the Tasmanian tiger still out there?
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Say it like you believe it .... I'm alive!
I'm Alive -- Thylacine Organic Women's Fitted T-Sh
Price: $26.99
Tasmanian tiger quiz
How many Tasmanian tiger facts do you know?
Take this short quiz to see how much you know about the Tasmanian tiger.
Find out about more unique Australian animals
Any thoughts or comments?
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AgingIntoDisability
Apr 26, 2012 @ 12:04 am | delete
- I have hope that there are one or two still in the wild somewhere.
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Ninfa Gonzalez
Apr 9, 2012 @ 9:48 pm | delete
- well I mean I"m doin this project on extinct animals and i have to talk for 3 min long without sayin ummm or mmm.... so I have to pick an animal that is not hard ohh.. I can't look at the board !!!=( im dead it's DUE wensday
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GonnaFly
Apr 9, 2012 @ 11:43 pm | delete
- All the best with your talk. Are you talking about the Tassie tiger?
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MindPowerProofs
Apr 1, 2012 @ 4:14 am | delete
- I love tigers but not this one.
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skiesgreen
Mar 5, 2012 @ 10:16 pm | delete
- Great lens and loved the quiz. Blessed, hugs
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Tasmanian tiger references
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