what is this (tasmainian tiger)???

I've been hearing about this Tasmanian tiger recently, so i wanted to ask you guys about it. are there any left?

Tasmanian Tiger also known as the Thylacine.

This is what wiki has to say about it.

The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus, pronounced /ˈθaɪləsaɪn/) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Native to Australia and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger (due to its striped back), the Tasmanian Wolf, and colloquially the Tassie (or Tazzy) Tiger or simply the Tiger.[a] It was the last extant member of its genus, Thylacinus, although a number of related species have been found in the fossil record dating back to the early Miocene.

The Thylacine became extinct on the Australian mainland thousands of years before European settlement of the continent, but survived on the island of Tasmania along with a number of other endemic species, including the Tasmanian Devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributory factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite being officially classified as extinct, sightings are still reported.

Like the tigers and wolves of the Northern Hemisphere, from which it inherited two of its common names, the Thylacine was a top-level predator. As a marsupial, it was not related to these placental mammals, but due to convergent evolution it displayed the same general form and adaptations. Its closest living relative is the Tasmanian Devil.

en.wikipedia.org...
I would really like to think that somehow they have survived somewhere out there in Tasmania, I can only hope.


[edit on 13-3-2008 by sherpa]

thank you Sherpa, can anyone else explain this a little more? thank you if you if you do.

sorry about the incorrect spelling, i forgot to reread. thank you for your help.

Thylacines are thought to be extinct, but everyone seems to know someone who knows someone who has had a sighting in Africa or something. Here is video of the last Thylacine ever in captivity:

www.youtube.com...

It's kind of sad to watch knowing that this animal was the last of its kind.

[edit on 3/13/2008 by MrAndy]

You could do a search though, we have had quite a few threads with dilusive pictures and footage of alleged tasmanian tigers. Some believe them to be extinct, others dont..

Personally, I believe it is definately extinct.

reply to post by crazywoot12atgmail.net


They are some recent reports of some in Australia. Here you go:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I have family in Hobart, Tasmania. And when I chat with them they tell me that about once a month someone claims to have seen a 'Tassie Tiger' out in the bush while camping.

We can live in hope that there is a mountain or valley that these creatures still thrive. 40% of tasmania is natural wildlife preserves.



Peace

I hope they manage to find one soon. Several years ago they tried to map the dna of the foetus they had preserved and maybe attempt to clone it. Unfortunately the DNA had degraded so much it coouldn't be done. If they found one they could at least get some DNA samples so we could resurrect it in due course.

Tasmania is almost complete wilderness. Two thirds of it is almost bush/forest and mountains. There have been several sightings over the last few decades, but officially it is extinct. Personally I hope there are some of these animals still out there, its a real shame to see anything cease to exist

I live in Tassie and there sure is a lot of isolated bushland around. I reckon if there are any tigers they would be on the south/west to north/west areas as there aren't many roads around and to get to many places you would have to walk for days (or chopper).

I occasionally see in the paper an article about some tourist or farmer who has seen a tassie tiger. We do have foxes though not seen very often so some sightings would be them.

I remember one article about a tiger carcass but it turned out to be a hoax and was just a fox.

I just hope the tassie devil wont end up the same way.

thank you guys, know i have a better understanding of it.

I myself saw one "trot" across the highway in outer suburban melbourne a couple years back.....I almost pulled the handbrake and went back for another look had it not been for the traffic behind me. I do know what they look like from reading up and researching them abit over the years, but what would have been the point telling authorities about it as they have a proven policy of deniability.

Later on, through somebody else I bumped into who has a close friend in the Department of Environment and Sustainability did confirm with me that they do have a small population of Thylacines in Victoria somewhere (southern Australia for those that dont know) that they are very carefully watching and running a breeding program that is top secret as they dont want any possible souvenire hunters getting to them.

Its the same thing with the Black Puma's in Victorian Mountains - government policy of deniability even though there are hundreds of reports of sightings and cattle being mutilated and taken away by these Pumas, even actual hair samples from a Puma from someones private zoo was given to the Government department to test to see what they say and they returned an answer of "its just a feral domesticated cat", which the bloke I spoke to said was absolute bull sh$t !

Lets hope we see them in the bush again as we need another predator to rid the bush of feral cats and foxes.

Its not much of a secret if that guy is telling someone whose telling people he bumps into.

Originally posted by Melbourne_Militia

Its the same thing with the Black Puma's in Victorian Mountains - government policy of deniability even though there are hundreds of reports of sightings and cattle being mutilated and taken away by these Pumas, even actual hair samples from a Puma from someones private zoo was given to the Government department to test to see what they say and they returned an answer of "its just a feral domesticated cat", which the bloke I spoke to said was absolute bull sh$t !

I have a "buddy" who is in the army and its one of these folk law stories that comes down through the years that back in WWII, a US naval ship was in port and there mascot was a black puma but for some logistical reason they had to release it, so they did a hush hush and dropped it off in the wild.. haha nice work.
As I said its just one of those stories that carries on through the years.

it is very sad to know that the tasmainian tiger is almost extinct.

reply to post by Clearskies

Very sad indeed.

I live there (Tas) and it's a sparsely populated island with a huge amount of preserved bushland so hope has not completely faded with occasional sightings still. The last credible sighting I heard of was in the central highlands area.

If you saw the wildlife carnage on the roads here that's where one will be found if they're still existing - flattened by a log truck. Their close cousins the Tasmanian Devil are very effective scavengers and any carcases in the bush are cleaned up virtually overnight without a trace, bones and all.

So there's still a chance they survived but it's a very faint chance at best.

Here's a picture of the thylacine's closest living relative - the Tasmanian Devil.



What an evil looking predator that would strike fear into the heart of anyone.

Well maybe not but they have the nastiest snarl you ever heard and jaws that crush the strongest bones

Now aint that cute.

No wonder they are so bad tempered all they want is a cuddle

Hehe, yeah.. And maybe a visit at the dentist!