Thylacine

The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), also known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, was a carnivorous marsupial in the family Thylacinidae. It historically occurred on the Australian mainland, New Guinea, and the island of Tasmania, but by the late 19th and early 20th centuries its range had been reduced to Tasmania, where it persisted until the 20th century. The last known captive thylacine died in 1936, and the species is regarded as extinct.

Physically, the thylacine was a medium-sized, dog-like carnivore with a slender body, a broad skull, and a long tail. Its fur was short and typically yellow-brown with a series of dark vertical stripes across the hips and hindquarters, a pattern that gave rise to the name Tasmanian tiger. Adults weighed roughly 15 to 30 kilograms (33–66 pounds). Females possessed a pouch, a common trait among marsupials.

Behavior and ecology are understood primarily from historical accounts. Thylacines were largely nocturnal and solitary, feeding on a variety of small to medium-sized animals, including wallabies, possums, birds, and other mammals. They hunted by stalking and ambushing, and their population dynamics were influenced by human activity, habitat change, and competition with other predators.

Extinction followed centuries of hunting, bounties, habitat alteration, and earlier declines on the mainland. The last known wild individuals disappeared from Tasmania by the early 20th century, and the last captive animal, Benjamin, died in Hobart Zoo in 1936. Since then, there have been numerous unconfirmed sighting reports, but none have been verified.

Genetic material from museum specimens has been studied, and the thylacine genome has been sequenced in part, fueling discussions about de-extinction. Nevertheless, no viable restoration has been achieved, and the species remains extinct.