Tasmanian Tiger [Thylacinus cynocephalus]

Watercolour sketch of Tasmanian Tiger by Peter Kreet.

The Tasmanian Tiger over the years has captured not only the imagination of Australians, but many conservatists around the world. Extinct species seem to create both curiosity and the interest of various celebrities, who feel obliged to mount  expeditions into the Tasmanian wildness.  A recent example was Brigitte Bardor, the French 1950's sex kitten. Unfortunately the Thylacine received a lot of bad press, blamed for heavy  sheep loses in the early days of settlement, the settlers applied political pressure to have a bounty introduced. However this proposal only passed through parliament by one vote, mainly due to the likely cost of one pound per carcass. Given that tiger had a preference for open country, there was always going to be a clash of interests with the early farmers. Evidence has suggested that wild dogs were the most likely cause of most stock loss, as the Thyacine diet of mice, bandicoot and other small game was plentiful. The bounty had more to do with the hard economic circumstance of many settlers, than stock losses.

Given this general overview, I was more than excited to be offered the opportunity to visit the Thylacine Vaults at the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery. Behind it's locked doors the Museum holds one of the largest collections of Thylacine specimen in the world. Over eighty skins, skeletons, skulls and various bone parts, along with several taxonomic examples are stored in its basement. There are also many preserved young in various stages of development held in spirits. The young when born are required to make the perilous journey to the pouch which fortunately face the back of the animal. Still the young are born without hind legs or hair and live in the mothers pouch for five months until they have grown a coat. The females are smaller than the males, the collection holds samples along with juveniles.

The 19th cent. saw a large trade in tiger carcasses, They were sent to Universities for dissection and traded with other Museums around the world for other exotic animals. Although the scientific community expressed concern about their possible extinction ,they were not placed on the protected list until July 1936, just 59 days before the last Thylacine died in captivity in Hobart's Zoo! The records suggest some 2ooo animals were needless shot for know real reason other than rumour. Settlers on the east-coast of Tasmania  in 1886 went so far as to from an association for the extermination of the Thylacine from the State due mainly to the possible financial rewards on offer. All animals shot had to be destroyed so as to prevent double dipping, sounds very much like the antics of the apple pull during the 1960's & 70's. It would appear that Government money had more to do with the disappearance of Tasmania's unique tiger.

The Museum lead the fight to create a reserve for the Thylacine, under the directorship of Clive Lord but without success. Prices soared as they became rarer like most exotic creatures and  prices have been going up ever since, recently a skin was offered for sale eBay with a price tag of  120000 dollars. We know very little about the life span and habits of the Tasmanian Tiger, whether they lived in family groups [single males had been sighted]. The 19th cent. was very much interested in their anatomical structure  due to Darwin's revolutionary theories, but showed little interest in anything else. Anatomically they are similar to the build of a greyhound which suggest short bursts of high speed. Little about the breeding cycle as non were every bred in captivity, we do know they could have up to four young, although two to three was normal. There is no evidence to suggest they were territorial like a wolf. The tiger was a carnivore with a short digestive track, it's likely life span about 12 years.

Over the years there have been reports of sighting, but no hard evidence has been supplied. Recently a German tourist claimed to have taken a photo of one, the markings seem to match, but the photo is very blurred and he returned home unfortunately before the film was developed. His brother reported the find some time later but no one has ever interviewed the gentleman .May be this was the source for the current film Hunter, were an army of Mafie types are all searching for a tiger. Many artist have attempted over the years to base work on our tiger, but generally they often make the animal appear large and aggressive, when in fact they were very weary of humans, there is no record of anyone ever being bitten.  It will be a great tragedy if our other unique creature the Tasmanian Devil follows the Thylacine into extinction.