Tasmanian Tiger!?
This one appeared in our back garden this morning. You can add it to all the supposed sightings in Tasmania over the years.
The Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is sadly now extinct, the last one dying in captivity in 1933. It is not a dog or a wolf, and most certainly not a tiger. It was the largest carnivorous marsupial, a cousin of the threatened Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).
Both the "Tiger" and the "Devil" once lived on the mainland of Australia, but became extinct there a long time ago. The "Devil" is now fighting a disease that threatens to wipe out local populations (largely the result of in-breeding through small populations). A number of "Devil" colonies have now been relocated in safe breeding programs as researchers seek to find a cure for the tumorous disease.
NOTE: Sadly the Tasmanian Tiger in the photo is not even a papier-mâché one. It turns out to be an artistic sculpture called "Dingo". And dingos are very much alive in the Australian outback (but ironically here, not in Tasmania).
** If you enlarge this shot you'll see almost in the centre of Dingo's body, a little dragon fly appears. **
Tasmanian Tiger!?
This one appeared in our back garden this morning. You can add it to all the supposed sightings in Tasmania over the years.
The Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is sadly now extinct, the last one dying in captivity in 1933. It is not a dog or a wolf, and most certainly not a tiger. It was the largest carnivorous marsupial, a cousin of the threatened Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).
Both the "Tiger" and the "Devil" once lived on the mainland of Australia, but became extinct there a long time ago. The "Devil" is now fighting a disease that threatens to wipe out local populations (largely the result of in-breeding through small populations). A number of "Devil" colonies have now been relocated in safe breeding programs as researchers seek to find a cure for the tumorous disease.
NOTE: Sadly the Tasmanian Tiger in the photo is not even a papier-mâché one. It turns out to be an artistic sculpture called "Dingo". And dingos are very much alive in the Australian outback (but ironically here, not in Tasmania).
** If you enlarge this shot you'll see almost in the centre of Dingo's body, a little dragon fly appears. **