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Home > Native Plants & Animals > Threatened Species > Extinct - Thylacine

Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine

Current status: Listed as presumed extinct under both the Federal and State Threatened Species Protection Acts. This means Thylacine have not been officially sighted in the wild or captivity for at least 50 years. The last known record of a Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was from a Tasmanian zoo, where it died in 1936.

What do we know about the Thylacine? Much of what we know about the Thylacine comes from historical records, personalised accounts collected by zoologist Eric Guiler in the 1970s and 1980s or from studying museum collections. Much of its biology may never be known now.

We do know that it used to be widespread on the mainland about 7,000 years ago and has probably been extinct there for 2,000 years. This has been attributed to the competition of dingoes, which were introduced at least 8,000 years ago to the mainland.

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The Thylacine was in Tasmania when Europeans first arrived 200 years ago. They may have already been on the decline but this was certainly accelerated by the new arrivals. Thylacines were seen as a direct threat to stock and were shot on sight. Eventually a bounty was placed on them and 2063 claims for bounty were made which led to the thylacines rapid extinction. Unfortunately the Thylacine's habitat coincided with the best farming areas. Many were trapped for zoos and these are now a source of records on thylacine biology in captivity. From such records we learnt that they survived in captivity for up to 13 years. Those caught with pouch young often had 3, and once 4, pouch young.

The future. Perhaps we can learn from the past and stop other unique species reaching this most terminable of states. Today there are still unverified claims of Thylacine sightings from not only Tasmania but also the mainland. Searches have been undertaken by both zoologists and amateurs seeking to solve the mystery of the Thylacine.

Further Information

Contact: Threatened Species Section - Enquiries

Threatened Species Section
3rd floor, 134 Macquarie Street
(GPO Box 44 Hobart 7001)
HOBART TAS 7000
Phone: 03 6233 8759
Fax: 03 6233 3477
Email: ThreatenedSpecies.Enquiries@dpipwe.tas.gov.au

Department switchboard: 1300 368 550 (local call cost)

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This page - http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-54F4ED?open - was last published on 27 May 2009 by the Department of Primary Industries and Water. Questions concerning its content can be sent to NatureConservation Enquiries by using the feedback form, by mail to GPO Box 44, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 7001, or by telephone to 03 6233 6556.

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