One of the great tragedies of the twentieth century was the extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger, the largest carnivorous marsupial to have lived in the modern world.Bad enough that this rare beast, found only on the Australian mainland, New Guinea and Tasmania is gone but that its demise was mainly caused by the incursions and depredation of European settlers. The Tasmanian Tiger was neither a feline nor a canine although it looked very much dog-like in body style and size. It shared a small classification of the genus, Thylacinus, with its cousin the Tasmanian Devil. In length the Tasmanian Tiger averaged between three and a half and four and a half feet long with a tale about two foot long. Matching the size of mid-sized dogs, the Tiger weighted in at between forty and seventy pounds.
According to International standards fifty years passed without a Tasmanian Tiger being discovered so it was listed as officially extinct in 1986. Despite the classification, there are still reports of sightings, tracks and scat of the occasional Tiger in a few remote parts of Tasmania. Several agencies have offered substantial rewards for proof the Tiger is still with us although they have as yet gone unclaimed. That the last old growth forest of Tasmania are where these sighting occur, the continued logging of these areas will soon guarantee the last hope of finding a live Tasmanian Tiger will perish along with this creature.
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