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Context

• The last known Tasmanian tiger died in captivity in 1936. But a study suggests hundreds more sightings into the 20th century.

Details

• New research examining hundreds of reports from more than a century shows there is a good chance the thylacine may have persisted for a few decades longer in the most remote parts of Tasmania.
• There are pockets where the species could have maintained small populations.

About Tasmanian Tiger

• Name: The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, is an extinct carnivorous marsupial.
• Location: was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea.
• Description:
  • The thylacine was known as the Tasmanian tiger because it displayed dark transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back, and it was known as the Tasmanian wolf because it had the general appearance of a medium-to-large-size canid.
  • The name thylacine is derived from thýlakos meaning "pouch" and ine meaning "pertaining to", and refers to the marsupial pouch.
  • Both genders had a pouch. The females used theirs for rearing young and the males used theirs as a protective sheath, covering the external reproductive organs.

Causes for extinction

• They had almost died out out on the Australian mainland from around 2,000 years ago, most likely because of the introduction of dingoes or due to climate change.
• Prior to European settlement around 5,000 remained in the wild on Tasmania.
• European settlers, some of whom harbored mostly unwarranted fears that the animal would attack livestock, relentlessly hunted the striped, carnivorous marsupials, which resembled wolves more than felines.
• The Tasmanian government even offered bounties on the thylacines.
• The last known of its species died in 1936 at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.

Cultural significance

• The thylacine is widespread in popular culture and is a cultural icon in Australia.
• The thylacine has been used extensively as a symbol of Tasmania.
• The animal is featured on the official coat of arms of Tasmania.
• On 7 September, the date in 1936 on which the last known thylacine died, National Threatened Species Day is commemorated in Australia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/science/tasmanian-tiger-sightings.html

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