Could the Thylacine Still Exist in Nature?

Callum Davidson

Abstract


The thylacine is a carnivorous marsupial which is considered to be extinct, with the last known member of the species dying in 1936.  It has captured the interest of cryptozoologists due to sighting reports which continue to arise to this day. The likelihood of its existence in nature today is discussed in this article, by considering the anatomy of the thylacine and its ability to survive in the wild, as well as the reasons for the rapid reduction in the thylacine population since the 1800s.


Keywords


Cryptids; Biology; Animals; Evolution; Extinction; Thylacine

Full Text:

PDF

References


Australian Musem (2021) The Thylacine. The Australian Museum. [online] Available at: https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/the-thylacine/ [Accessed 16th March 2023]

Feigin, C.Y., Newton, A.H., Doronina, L., Schmitz, J., Hipsley, C.A., Mitchell, K.J., Gower, G., Llamas, B., Soubrier, J., Heider, T.N., Menzies, B.R., Cooper, A., O’Neill, R.J. & Pask, A.J. (2018) Genome of the Tasmanian tiger provides insights into the evolution and demography of an extinct marsupial carnivore, Nat Ecology and Evolution, 2, 182–192. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0417-y

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2022) Thylacine, Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/animal/thylacine [Accessed 16th March 2023]

Fillios, M., Crowther, M. & Letnic, M. (2012) The impact of the dingo on the thylacine in Holocene Australia, World Archaeology, 44, 118-134. DOI: 10.1080/00438243.2012.646112

Attard, M. (2013) Why did the Tasmanian tiger go extinct?, UNSW Newsroom. [online] Available at: https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science/why-did-tasmanian-tiger-go-extinct [Accessed 16th March 2023]

National Museum of Australia (2022) Defining moments - Extinction of thylacine. National Museum of Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/extinction-of-thylacine [Accessed 16th March 2023]

Paddle, R. (2012) The thylacine’s last straw: epidemic disease in a recent mammalian extinction, Australian Zoologist, 36(1), pp. 75–92. DOI: 10.7882/AZ.2012.008

IUCN Red List (2016) Thylacine: Thylacinus cynocephalus, IUCN Red List. [online] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/21866/21949291 [Accessed 16th March 2023]

Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service (2021) Reserve listing, Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service. Tasmanian Government. [online] Available at: https://parks.tas.gov.au/about-us/managing-our-parks-and-reserves/reserve-listing [Accessed 16th March 2023]

Campbell, C. (n.d.) Biology: Behaviour (page 13). Naturalworlds.org. [online] Available at: http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/biology/behaviour/behaviour_13.htm [Accessed 16th March 2023]

Krefft, G. (1868) Notes on the fauna of Tasmania, Monthly Notices of Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, pp. 90–105. [online] Available at: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/14870/ [Accessed 16th March 2023]


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.