The Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine) - Alive And Well?, page 3

reply to post by ravenshadow13

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Hiya Raven, how have you been?

It's sad that European settlers had such a bad attitude.

Hunted the thylacine to near extinction, introduced so many pests like rabbits and foxes...

sigh

reply to post by Chadwickus

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Aw I'm super. Busy with school, as always.

I agree. It's always worse in areas like Australia and NZ where the fauna and flora adapted without the presence of eutherian mammals. We're lucky that some species are even around today (like kakapos) when other species have been gone for hundreds of years (moa). The examples used in my neck of the words are the sea mink and great auk.

Someone once told me that there is a religious explanation for why many people never actually believed that a species could go extinct. Something to do with how God created all of the species, or something involving our interactions with other species. I don't quite remember, but it was an interesting thought. No one ever *wants* a species to go extinct (unless it's a pest or harmful, but ignoring that...) it simply seems to happen "by accident." Because no one ever believed that it would happen.

Like... there would ALWAYS be clouds of passenger pigeons in the sky, so it's fine to hunt them!

Until there aren't anymore.

Originally posted by ravenshadow13
reply to post by Chadwickus

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Someone once told me that there is a religious explanation for why many people never actually believed that a species could go extinct. Something to do with how God created all of the species, or something involving our interactions with other species. I don't quite remember, but it was an interesting thought. No one ever *wants* a species to go extinct (unless it's a pest or harmful, but ignoring that...) it simply seems to happen "by accident." Because no one ever believed that it would happen.

I remember reading that quote in a book recently. It was either Jurassic Park or Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon.

I remember reading it, and chuckling a little.

reply to post by lapzod

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Oh, huh. I'm pretty sure I heard it at some point while taking Ecology. Ecology or Wildlife Policy or one of those things...

reply to post by ravenshadow13

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oh, for sure, I imagine it's a well sourced quote, I was merely commenting that I had heard it recently as well

Here is a contemporary Australian newspaper report from 3 November 1821 about the Thylacine which serves to debunk the BBCs assertion that the animal was incapable of taking sheep.

NATIVE TYGER, OR HYENA.-On Sunday last, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon... the sheep were suddenly frightened at the sight of one of these ferocious animals. ...soon perceived the Hyena pursuing the flock right a-head, when he made a sudden spring among the sheep, and fastened upon a lamb, which he immediately killed. The man then ran up with his dog; but the Tyger made off before he could reach the spot: the dog however shortly after came up with the Hyena, when he turned round and attacked the dog, who, with the assistance of his master, at last managed to kill him. The lamb was rather large, about 6 months old. The Tyger measured 6 feet from the nose to the extremity of the tail; and is the second one that has been killed on nearly the same spot within these last twelve months.

Source: trove.nla.gov.au...|||l-category=Article|category%3AArticle

These old newspapers give some great insights into the attitudes of the day and there are also some surprises. For instance, one report talks about two "tygers" being shot and killed at Port Phillip in 1803. For those who aren't familiar with the place names, Port Phillip is on the Australian mainland and is now the city of Melbourne in Victoria.

Other newspaper articles speak of a £1 government bounty for each Thylacine scalp - a LOT of money in those days. Even when it became clear in the 1860s and 70s that the Thylacine was becoming critically endangered, the Tasmanian government of the day refused to protect it. A planned Thylacine exhibit at the Hobart Zoo was blocked by the state government who still considered the animal to be vermin. As late as the 1930s there was an old timer bleating about how he had lost 2000 sheep over six months to the Thylacine and if he saw one he'd shoot it in the neck. Soon after, the last remaining Thylacine in captivity died and they were officially regarded as being extinct in the 1950s.

Do I think they still exist? Sure I do. I think there are probably some remnant populations on the mainland as well. Back in the early 1970s my parents were driving down the Macquarie Pass on the NSW south coast escarpment and they both saw one. That gives me hope these animals are still around.

reply to post by AlanQaida

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I'm also in Tas and there's plenty of places where they could survive unseen for decades such as the southwest national park which covers near a quarter of the state and is practically impenetrable for humans apart from some established walking tracks, the legendary 'horizontal scrub'. If you're familiar with Tas country roads you'd be able to predict where one is most likely to be found. The carnage of native fauna here on the roads is beyond belief, devils, roos, wallabies, pademelons, echidnas, bandicoots etc etc all are unfortunately not immune to cars and trucks but the southwest has no such traffic.

reply to post by Pilgrum

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Very true, where i live i cant drive over 40 km/h after 8pm, til about 7am, it's insane the amount of wallabies and possums that get hit, the southern bushland is thick though and i have been down that way, loads of places for them to hide!

reply to post by Pilgrum

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Which is why I refuse to believe early settlers wiped every single one of them out. It's hard work getting to some of those areas and not for amateur hikers.

To truly investigate as much as we are able to would require a professional expedition with people who are experienced in bushcraft and survival.

I don't think Mr English settler was heading out to those regions, rifle slung over his back!

I think maybe, some have been actually photographed by tourists in easily accessible areas however - I tend to look at these photos as hoaxes. The real locations where an actual sighting could be made aren’t even on most tourists agenda.

reply to post by TRiPWiRE

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A number of professionals have had an ongoing search for a long time but no positive results as yet. Several placed motion sensing IR cameras in likely secluded areas with no success (captured pics of just about every other native animal though). Mustn't give up hope though as the existence of foxes here was denied for ages until a farmer actually got one (was accused of fraud initially too) and that was a fairly recent development.

With recent research, it's now been shown that the Tasmanian Tiger was actually unable to attack early settlers sheep. Their jaw was simply not strong enough.

Makes the whole mass-culling of them even sadder to me. Killed for a "crime" they were physically unable to commit.

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