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Thylacine |
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Before humans came to Australia and Tasmania, you could find an amazing variety of unique creatures there. There was Thylacoleo, the marsupial lion, with huge raptor-like claws; Diprotodon, a peaceful herbivore half wombat and half rhino; even Genyornis, a large and probably dangerous ancestor of geese, dubbed "The Demon Duck of Doom". But perhaps the most amazing of them all was the Thylacine, also called the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, although it was actually a marsupial. Thylacinus cynocephalus, meaning dog-headed pouched dog, was about five feet long and 22 inches at the shoulder, resembling a short-furred dog with a long, thin tail and upright ears. It was a dull orange color, with black stripes on the back, hindquarters and tail, which lengthened as they got further away from the head. Discovered by white settlers in 1805, it was a solitary animal found only in the densest woodland of Tasmania. It was once common on mainland Australia and New Guinea, but vanished with the arrival of the Aborigines. Thylacines fed on kangaroos, wallabies, ground birds, and occasionally sheep. With powerful jaws that could open almost 180 degrees, they were capable of smashing an animal's head with one bite. The female possessed a pouch, like all marsupials. It was backwards-facing to prevent the intrusion of leaves and sticks. Less than 150 years after its discovery, the Thylacine was hunted to extinction by ranchers who feared it would destroy their herds of sheep. The last two known Thylacines died in captivity in 1936. However, ever since it supposedly died out, there have been unsubstantiated reports of Thylacines from Australia and Tasmania. In August of 1961, a creature which may have been a Thylacine wandered into a trap on the west coast of Tasmania. It escaped, leaving behind blood and hair. In 1982, a detailed report of a Thylacine by a park ranger sparked a massive search, as did another in 1997. Over a thousand other sightings have been reported in the last sixty years. Some have linked it to the Queensland tiger, a sheep-killing striped creature described as more feline than canine (if it exists, it is more likely the marsupial lion). - entry provided by Andrew Coletti, APC1207@aol.com
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