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© Tim Squires 2007
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General description
The thylacine was a very beautiful animal and the largest carnivorous marsupial extant at the time of European settlement in 1803. As a large carnivore, its population density was relatively low. It had a superficial resemblance to a large dog or wolf, and its fur was coloured with rich, dark golden-browns and blacks. There were strands of black fur distributed almost everywhere throughout the coat which became more concentrated on the upper parts of the head, top of the neck and shoulders, and gathered to form jet-black stripes on the hind quarters. The tail was very long and rigid, similar to that of a kangaroo. The thylacine was lean, muscular and very agile. It had a large, powerful head and strong jaws. Its eyes were very large, deep-set and black, with soft black eyelashes, and black skin around the eyes which sometimes gave the impression of a mask. Young were raised in a backward-facing pouch.
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History
The lineage of the thylacine stretches back over 20 million years to small, tree-dwelling ancestors classified in the family of the Thylacinidae. The members of this family, the thylacinids, ranged extensively throughout the entire Australian continent.
As evolution progressed the various types of thylacinids changed and diversified. They became heavier and more ground-dwelling, and their larger body size and longer legs enabled them to hunt bigger prey.
Towards the end of the Miocene era, around 5 million years ago, climatic changes occurred and the Australian continent began drying out. Competition was also present from another strong carnivorous marsupial family, the Dasyuridae. These two factors restricted the suitable habitat for the thylacinids, and by the end of this period, seven thylacinid species were extinct. By 3 million years ago, only the Tasmanian tiger, Thylacinus cynocephalus remained.
Between 3500 and 4000 years ago, the canid species Canis lupus dingo was introduced to the Australian continent, possibly by Asian seafarers. This was a further competitive blow to T. cynocephalus, and the species eventually became extinct on the Australian mainland. By this time Tasmania had become separated from the mainland, and because the dingo had never reached the island, it was now the thylacine's last safe refuge.
Here the thylacine survived in diminished but healthy populations until the arrival of European settlers in 1803. Both the thylacine and the indigenous people of Tasmania suffered terribly at the hands of the newcomers, who set about claiming the land as their own and establishing farms, homes and townships. The thylacine was widely regarded as a pest and heavily hunted, and as a creature with no ability to withstand this onslaught, its days drew steadily to a close. The death of the last known living thylacine in the Hobart Zoo in September, 1936, marked the end of the highly-specialised Thylacinidae family, and the beginning of a period of deep sorrow and regret for those who wished that the "tiger" could have survived.
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Studying the thylacine
The thylacine became extinct before any extensive scientific research could be carried out, and much of our present knowledge of the animal is based upon historical notations and reports, early eyewitness accounts, and studies of the anatomy and behaviour of other carnivorous marsupials, such as the Tasmanian devil and quolls.
In addition, a great deal of preserved thylacine material — such as skulls, skeletons, mounted specimens and skins — can be found in museums throughout the world. Institutions such as The American Museum of Natural History in New York, the British Natural History Museum in London, and the Musee d'Historie Naturelle in Paris all contain various types of thylacine material that was obtained from animal dealers in the late 19th century, and from animals that had died in zoos.
Photographs and films showing live captive thylacines exist, but no photographs were ever taken of the animal in its natural habitat. The thylacine also features in a wide array of illustrations, drawings and paintings, but many of these were based on unreliable descriptions and information, and very few could be classed as scientifically accurate representations. The drawing by Tim Squires in the Animals of Tasmania suite is perhaps the first modern portrait to accurately depict the facial anatomy of a thylacine in great detail, and was based upon the extensive study of specimens in the collections of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart, and the South Australian Museum in Adelaide.
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Does the thylacine still exist?
Even though the last known living thylacine died in the Hobart Zoo in 1936, it is possible that the species still survived at that time in the Tasmanian wilderness.
It is, however, extremely unlikely that the numbers of the animals at that time were enough to ensure the survival of a healthy, breeding population.
The habitat favoured by the thylacine was open woodland and light forest, and much of this type of natural landscape has been given over to the establishment of agriculture, cities and townships, leaving comparatively little for a large carnivore to survive.
Over 300 thylacine sightings have been reported since 1936, but none of them have been proven authentic, and no definitive evidence of a living thylacine has ever been found.
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