Black and white footage of the last known existing Tasmanian tiger was recently rediscovered. It is said that the lonely creature, nicknamed Benjamin, was captured on camera just before it went extinct in 1936. Others claim that it's possible that the thylacine still exists.
Although there had been other black-and-white footage of thylacines, the Wonderland video is the only one with the original audio. The narrator describes the Tasmanian tiger as having a 'striped, unjointed tail.' It was as rare as the Tasmanian devil, a genetic cousin, but 'being forced out of its natural habitat by the march of civilization; this is the only one in captivity in the world.'
The video also captures Arthur Reid, the zookeeper and Hobart, banging on the thylacine's cage. Reid was probably trying to get the animal to act up or do a 'threat yawn,' the noise it makes to menace anything that posed as a threat.
The footage seems to be a snippet from the 'Tasmania the Wonderland' by filmmaker and exhibitor Sidney Cook. There's another short black-and-white video without audio of a pair of thylacines, one being Benjamin, from Hobart Zoo in 1933.
Despite the thylacine being referred to as the Tasmanian tiger, the species is not related to cats. It is a marsupial predator with the distinct trait of carrying their young in a pouch, like kangaroos and the Tasmanian devil. Thylacines lived in Australia and Tasmania for millions of years dating back to the Ice Age when there was a land bridge between the two landmasses.
Human Civilization
In Australia, the Tasmanian tiger was a prominent figure for the Aboriginal people. Frequent rock paintings have been found on walls and exposed rock surfaces. There's also evidence that the tribe may have hunted the marsupial for food.
The species mainly hunted at night alone or with a companion and hunted rodents, birds, kangaroos, and other marsupials. European colonists also claimed that they preyed on sheep and poultry.
One theory of extinction suggests that they lived alongside Australians for thousands of years until Asian sailors arrived and brought a population of dingoes. Dingoes have a similar build and diet as thylacines and probably dominated in hunting for the same food.
The powerful hunting dogs also multiplied faster with larger and more frequent litters than Tasmanian tigers. After 4,000 years of competition between the two species, it was the settlers that dominated in persecuting the marsupials, who were defending and protecting their flocks of sheep and chickens all across Tasmania. With persecution lasting from the 1800s until the 1930s, it was recorded that a farmer, Wilfred Batty, shot the last wild thylacine.
Reported Sightings
Others believe that the thylacine may still exist as Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water, and Environment have reports of eight detailed sightings from 2017 to 2019. There also remains no definite evidence pointing to how exactly the animals became extinct.
One report in 2018 claimed that 'the animal had a stiff and firm tail, that was thick at the base. It had stripes down it's back. It was the size of a large Kelpie (bigger than a fox, smaller than a German Shepherd).' The couple was certain that what they saw was a thylacine.
Read Also: Exceedingly Rare Ultra White Grizzly Bear Spotted!
