On December 7, 1936, the last thylacine died at Hobart Zoo.
This she-condyle is named "Benjamin".
On that day, the hot sun seemed to dry the last drop of water on her body.
Because the caretaker forgot to close the gate of the animal house, Benjamin could not reach even a trace of shade in the cage.
She could only stick out her tongue and let the sun be exposed, and die of torture.
Banjamin locked up in a zoo, 1933. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Benjamin's death marked the complete disappearance of the species of thylacine from the earth.
Among the many extinct animals, the thylacine should be the most attractive one.
It has now been exactly 82 years since Benjamin's death. But it is still believed that the thylacine is not extinct.
Every three to five minutes, someone claims to have seen the ghost of a thylacine in the wild.
But unfortunately, every time it was a pure misunderstanding.
Except for those snowflakes or empty mouths, humans did not even get a single thylacine hair.
The "thylacine" photographed in South Australia in 1973 is actually a fox, and its tail is hairy due to scabies to look like a thylacine
Thylacine, often referred to as the "Tasmanian Tiger", is native to Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.
Their diets include small kangaroos, small and medium-sized reptiles, and small birds.
However, the name "Tiger" is a serious misleading.
People call it that purely because it's a top predator and it carries stripes similar to tigers.
In fact, the thylacine looks like a striped dog or wolf.
However, the appearance of the thylacine is also somewhat misleading.
You may not believe it when you say it, but they are not close relatives to the canine family, but they are also separated by blood for 108,000 miles.
Thylacines are marsupials characterized by an incompletely developed placenta, and premature babies grow up sucking in their mother's nursery pouch.
The female thylacine's pouch, on the other hand, grows on the abdomen and opens backwards.
This way, early-born pups can more easily climb into the pouch and continue to grow and develop.
Of course, male thylacines also have a bag-like structure, located in the scrotum position.
This "spoofing bag" is believed to have the effect of protecting the male scrotum.
Mixed element beast image
The extant mammals are mainly divided into two major categories (placenta ( more than 5500 species ) , marsupials ( more than 270 species ) ( rarely , single-foraminids ) .
Mammals, on the other hand, have a common ancestor, the Hybrid Beast.
Therefore, the genus name of the Mixed Element Beast means "YuanQi is divided, Chaos is one, and Yuanqi is the beginning.".
It developed a mixture of euphropods and post-mammals, living in the early Cretaceous period, 126 million years ago.
Mixed fossils
Later, the mixed element beasts evolved into two major categories: true beasts and post-beasts.
The present placenta and their fossil ancestors are subordinate to the order Eupnophia.
Marsupials and their fossil ancestors are subordinate to the posterior thermopods.
At this stage, it is believed that the earliest marsupials are likely to be "Chinese possums" that lived 125 million years ago.
This is the oldest known fossil of a marsupial.
Fossils of Chinese possums
Between 45 million and 38 million years ago, the Australian continent was separated from Antarctica and South America due to crustal movement.
Since then, Australia has become a separate, independent continent.
The animals and plants above have also begun to develop independently.
At the same time, the two major classes born of the same root have always had a competitive relationship, and it is the placenta class that has the upper hand.
But on this land of Australia, the marsupial class is a big success.
Schematic diagram of the theory of continental drift
One hypothesis is that 15 million years ago, large swaths of Australia's forests were replaced by arid grasslands due to climate change.
This also means a rapid reduction in food, but this is in favor of marsupials with slow metabolism.
As a result, marsupials dominated the continent.
Australia has been a haven for marsupials for a long time.
This is why the marsupials we can see now are basically in Oceania (in addition to the Americas and Southeast Asia are also a few).
On other continents, on the contrary, it became the territory of placenta animals.
The two camps of animals, placental and marsupial, are like two earths living in parallel universes.
They evolved lions (tasmans), saber-toothed tigers (bag-toothed tigers), monkeys (tasmans) and so on on different continents.
A very important difference between the two types of animals is that a "no bag" is born entirely on the fetus, and a "bag" also relies on a nursery bag to raise offspring.
Therefore, the thylacine is really not familiar with the canines we are familiar with.
The relationship between the thylacine and the kangaroo is better than that of the wolf or the dog.
Thylacine and Dingo
The reason why the thylacine is similar to the wolf is because of convergent evolution.
In similar ecosystems, species occupying the same niche can evolve similar body structures or functions under natural selection.
Even if you don't count Australia's marsupials, there are many examples of such unrelated but similar-looking animals.
Great auk (extinct species), if not many people think to see penguins
For example, penguins living in high latitudes in the southern hemisphere and great auks living in high latitudes in the northern hemisphere are typical convergent evolutions.
The two are not related in any way, but they look almost identical.
They also gave up flying, evolved streamlined bodies, waterproof feathers, and so on.
The thylacine and the wolf occupy the same niche in two similar ecosystems.
That's why the thylacine is so much like a wolf.
They all have slender noses, sharp canine teeth and scissor-like molars, making them ideal for catching, killing, and dismembering prey.
Compared with the skulls of the thylacine and the gray wolf, the number of teeth of the thylacine is 46, while the gray wolf is 44
In this barren land of Australia, the thylacine is already the top predator in the marsupial class.
But unlike, recent studies have suggested that thylacines may hunt in a more similar way to cats.
Their forelimb joints are more flexible, and both the forelimbs and wrist joints can be twisted to fight with prey.
So it stands to reason that the thylacine should also be an ambush hunter like a feline.
Instead of chasing prey for a long time, as canines do, they are tired and then hunted.
This also means that from the hunting style, they are called "Tasmanian tigers" than "thylacine wolves".
In 1906, two thylacines, one male and one female, at the Washington, D.C. Zoo
But in fact, the thylacine belongs to the genus Thylacine of the family Thylacineidae.
Scientists widely believe that, by generation, the closest thing to the thylacine is the possum.
Some scientific studies believe that Tasmanian devils or anteaters are their living close relatives.
Therefore, it is no wonder that the image of the thylacine in the human mind is so mysterious.
A member of the Tasmanian mustela order
But there's nothing that can be done about it, because the thylacine is extinct.
Scientists who want to study thylacines can only start with various fossils and cadaver specimens. Humans know little about the animal's habits and behavior.
Although there are also some oral descriptions from hunters or farmers, it is uncertain how accurate these materials are.
Because the disappearance of thylacines stems from the wrong perception and interpretation of them by humans at that time.
This is a total tragedy.
Thylacine on a prehistoric mural
In the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene, these animals were found throughout mainland Australia and Tasmania.
Even in New Guinea, their footprints can be found.
But by the time western migrants poured into Australia and the surrounding area more than two hundred years ago, the thylacine had disappeared from areas such as the mainland and New Guinea.
At that time, the thylacine had completely retreated to Tasmania.
On this island, which covers an area of about 65,000 square kilometers, the thylacine is fortunate to survive to the modern age.
Tasmania
The thylacine disappeared in Australia itself, about 3,000 years ago, for a variety of reasons.
One traditional view is that it was the Australian dingo (Canis lupus dingo) brought by the Aboriginal Australians that led to the extinction of the thylacine.
Because the thylacine and the Dingo are in a competitive relationship, the thylacine will be killed in the end.
But no one can say for sure how much the dingo poses to the thylacine.
There are oral reports that dingoes are afraid of thylacines, and some say that dingoes often form teams up and can compete with thylacines...
Dingo
Anyway, how the thylacine disappeared on the Australian continent we have not yet found the answer.
But in the final position, Tasmania, the reason for how the thylacine was quickly killed is clear.
If in mainland Australia and New Guinea, it is natural selection that eliminates the thylacine.
In Tasmania, then, it was the Europeans who sent them to the West.
In 1910, the thylacine family of animals living in Hobart
Before the arrival of europeans, the native Tasmanians occasionally hunted thylacines.
However, this capture did not affect the survival of the thylacine.
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples and thylacines have been in a state of equilibrium.
The tragic beginning began in 1642 when Dutch navigators discovered the island.
Subsequently, Europeans such as Britain and France also flocked to the scene.
In 1770, the British, who had occupied Tasmania, issued a brutal order.
Capture an Indigenous adult alive and reward £5 and a child £2.
With the massacre order issued, the number of natives quickly plummeted from 10,000 to 2,000.
By 1831, there were fewer than 200 indigenous people left.
Later, they were relocated to Flinders Island to settle down.
The last pure native was a woman who died of illness in 1876.
"The Last Tasmanian Aboriginal"
The fate of the thylacine is so similar to that of the local indigenous people.
As european immigrants on the island gradually replaced the indigenous people, animal husbandry also developed rapidly.
At that time, large areas of eucalyptus jungle, bushes, grasslands, etc. were reclaimed into pastures.
The thylacine habitat is reduced by half, which also directly leads to a rapid decrease in food for the thylacine.
In addition, Europeans brought a large number of canids, which also became competitors of thylacines.
Thylacine hunter
At that time, the thylacine was already struggling to survive in the cracks.
But even worse was a European order to hunt thylacines.
Initially, ranchers thought that thylacines would sneak up on sheep and poultry.
European immigrants living in Tasmania began to spread word of mouth that thylacines would attack poultry and were blood-eating monsters.
So ranch employees began hunting thylacines that were closer to farms and residential areas.
By 1888, in order to vigorously develop the animal husbandry industry, the government launched a bounty program.
Similar to the original hunt of Tasmanian aborigines, hunters receive £1 for each adult thylacine killed, while the cubs are less than 10 shillings.
In the 20 years from 1888 to 1908, the government gave away a total of 2184 pounds of bounties.
If you count the adult thylacines hunted, at least more than 2184 thylacines were killed.
The hunted thylacine hung on a wall
However, the number of thylacines killed may far exceed the number of thylacines that receive a bounty.
First, a large number of injured adult thylacines may have died during the escape, not falling into the hands of hunters.
In addition, adult thylacines can also lead to the death of young pups that have not yet grown up.
It was during this series of operations that hunters began to see fewer and fewer traces of thylacines.
By 1909, the government had issued only a bounty of two pounds.
Bounty status from 1888 to 1909
But is the thylacine really so heinous?
Of course, it is not excluded that there have been thylacines that have killed human livestock.
Because of the reduction of habitat, the food of the thylacine is also reduced, and it is not impossible to sneak to the farm to poach.
So far, however, there is no direct evidence that the thylacine was responsible for the killing of livestock.
Posed picture of a thylacine eating chicken
The only photo of a so-called thylacine attacking poultry is only a posing shot.
The thylacine in the photo is long dead and has been made into a specimen, but was used by humans to be slandered as a chicken thief.
It is now widely believed that the Dingo is the biggest enemy of ranchers.
A significant proportion of the missing livestock were eaten by dingoes or stolen by thieves.
More ironically, as the population of thylacines rapidly decreases, the greater the interest in this rare animal.
In addition to the fur trade, thylacines were transported in large numbers to zoos, circuses, or specimens stored in museums.
In addition, among thylacines at that time, a type of scabies was also prevalent, which often led to the death of thylacine infection.
Records show that the last wild thylacine was shot to death in 1930.
The thylacine is doomed.
The last wild thylacine died
In fact, in the early 20th century, there were proposals to protect the thylacine.
However, the government's response has been too slow.
It was not until July 10, 1936, that the local government issued a protective decree against thylacines.
But it's too late for some of this.
The "lone wolf Benjamin" mentioned at the beginning of the article was roasted alive by the sun just two months later due to the negligence of the administrator.
Benjamin in 1933
Even funnier, the Thylacine Sanctuary was only established in 1966.
Contrary to past bounties, the government has certified that killing a thylacine is punishable by a fine.
But look closely at the time node, it was exactly 27 years since the last thylacine died, and there was still thylacine protection.
Because no one confirmed the existence of the thylacine, the thylacine was finally listed as an extinct species in 1986.
In honor of the thylacine Tasmanian State Government, it was added to the official coat of arms
But to this day, humans do not believe that the thylacine is gone forever.
Many people believe that the thylacine is just hiding and difficult to see by humans.
Almost every year, there are news reports of similar sightings of wild thylacines. In the 20 years from 1960 to 1980 alone, there were more than 320 sightings.
However, every time it was an empty joy. Or, you don't know how to cherish until you lose it.
*References
The Thylacine Museum
Thylacine . Wikipedia
Marc Tollis.Case Studies of Convergent Evolution: of Wolves and Thylacines.2014
Figueirido,Janis.The predatory behaviour of the thylacine: Tasmanian tiger or marsupial wolf? Biology Letters.2011