Tomorrow marks exactly 70 years since the thylacine, a fascinating feral feline large carnivorous marsupial, was declared extinct. It's also known as the Tasmanian Tiger, because Aussie stoners kept thinking "Thylacine" was the name of an exotic new psychotropic drug (and ensuing attempts to roll the critter up in blunts and smoke it didn't help preservation efforts). Loren Coleman of cryptomundo says,
The last captive thylacine died in the Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936. Today in Australia, the day is now known as “Threatened Species Day.” Ten years ago it was known as “National Thylacine Day.”
The last thylacine was captured in 1924, with its mother and siblings, in Florentine Valley, Tasmania. In 1933, this last thylacine, a female, was sold to the Hobart Zoo. (Whether or not it was ever named “Benjamin” is a subject of much debate.) The world’s last captive then died in that zoo three years later. In the same year, 1936, or in 1938, by some accounts, the Tasmanian tiger was added to the list of Protected Wildlife. Finally, 50 years after the death of the last captive, in 1986, the thylacine was declared extinct by international standards.
But sightings in the wild persist. Do they live today out in the forest bush of Tasmania (almost 400 sightings), on mainland Australia (over 4000 sightings), or in the rainforests of New Guinea (a handful)?
Link. Update: Also on Cryptomundo today, video proof that the recently-departed Steve Irwin (who dabbled in cryptozoology) had a great sense of self-deprecating humor. Link.
Reader comment: D'oh! Thylacines aren't felines, they're thylacines! Bruce Wright says,
Felines are
Animalia – Chordata – Mammalia – Carnivora – Felidae
Thylacines are
Animalia – Chordata – Mammalia – Marsupialia – Dasyuromorphia – Thylacinidae
Steve Hutcheon says,
Here's some photos of thylacines.
Dr. Paul J. Camp says,
The thylacine was able to open its mouth to an unbelievable extent, as you can see in one of the videos (film number 5) at this site, a labor of love by a thylacine expert.
