Revisiting the Thylacine: Possibilities Alive and Well.

Greetings. The thylacine, better known as the Tasmanian Wolf or Tasmanian Tiger, is an iconic species of carnivorous marsupial that is known from New Guinea, Australia, and of course, the Island of Tasmania. 

The species, Thylacinus cynocephalus, disappeared from New Guinea and the Australian mainland approximately 3,000 years ago, but maintained a healthy population in Tasmania until historical times. Having first appeared in the fossil record approximately 2.8 million years ago, during the Pliocene Epoch, the thylacine's population numbers in New Guinea and Australia began to dwindle when humans arrived, pressuring the species into local extinction due to direct hunting, habitat destruction, and the introduction of the invasive dingo. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in Tasmania, thylacines numbered about 6,000 individuals, but their population gradually decreased due to many of the same factors, although the dingo was never introduced to the island. The last known thylacine, a female, died in the Hobart Zoo on September 7th of 1936.

The animal's physical characteristics are at times expected for a predatory species, but in other ways unique, even for a marsupial. Adults measured about 1.98 meters in length with weights of 35 kilograms reported. There is evidence of some sexual dimorphism, with males being slightly larger than females, with both sexes possessing backward facing pouches, for the feeding and rearing of young in females, for the protection of the external genitalia in males, unique among marsupials. 

Thylacines are known for the series of dark stripes that ran across their backs and for their outward similarities to canids, specifically wolves. Having a weak sense of smell, thylacines hunted by sight and used their keen sense of hearing to locate their prey. Thylacines were able to open their muscular jaws to an impressive 80 degrees, which assisted in the dispatching of prey. Interestingly, while thylacines were quadrupedal animals, they were capable of bipedal movement when necessary. Native to the woodlands of Tasmania at medium to high elevations, thylacines were year-round breeders and apex predators, being the largest marsupial carnivore of the last 40,000 years.

Since the loss of the last captive thylacine back in 1936, sightings have continued, but with no direct physical evidence having been recovered. Multiple scientific expeditions have not been able to definitively confirm the species' continued existence, but sightings continue to be reported. From a purely scientific standpoint, the likelihood that the thylacine still exists cannot be discounted, especially in limited numbers and in an isolated environment far away from human populations. From a personal standpoint, I believe the species still exists, in limited numbers, in the highlands of Tasmania. Alive, hunting, and breeding. 

Hope springs eternal in Tasmania. 

Thank you for your time and indulgence.