75 years without the Thylacine...

"Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the death of what is believed to have been the last remaining thylacine, named Ben. The animal was kept at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania."

I just came across a BBC article reporting findings from a scientific investigation into the jaw-strength of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger which found the carnivorous marsupial's jaws to be too weak to have killed sheep (Europeans' fears over losing their livestock to the Thylacine was the main reason behind the extermination of the animal). It's a sad finding, but I still like to believe that a small but sustainable Tassie Tiger population still exists in the remote wilderness of Tasmania, far away from us terrible humans.

"The terrible loss of the thylacine signifies unjustified, negligent destruction of our native flora and fauna. It is a cautionary reminder of what we have lost, and that without urgent intervention other species will suffer the same fate."

Extinct Animal of the Week X

Aurochs

"The aurochs or urus (Bos primigenius), the ancestor of domestic cattle, was a type of huge wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627."


This will probably be the last 'Extinct Animal of the Week' post for a while. To finish things off here's footage of the last known Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine) to have existed:

Extinct Animal of the Week IX

Caribbean Monk Seal

"The Caribbean Monk Seal or West Indian Monk Seal (Monachus tropicalis) is an extinct species of seal. It is the only seal ever known to be native to the Caribbean sea and the Gulf of Mexico."

Extinct Animal of the Week VIII

Bulldog Rat

"The Bulldog Rat (Rattus nativitatis) was a species of rat endemic to the Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. The rats lived on the higher hills and denser forests of the island."

Extinct Animal of the Week VII

Falkland Islands Wolf

"The Falkland Islands Wolf (Dusicyon australis), also known as the Warrah and occasionally as the Falkland Islands Dog, Falkland Islands Fox or Antarctic Wolf, was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands. This endemic canid became extinct in 1876, the first known canid to have gone extinct in historical times."

Extinct Animal of the Week VI

Thylacine

"The thylacine was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, the Tasmanian wolf, and colloquially the Tassie tiger or simply the tiger. Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century. It was the last extant member of its genus, Thylacinus, although several related species have been found in the fossil record dating back to the early Miocene."

This one I feel particularly sad about...and despite most evidence to the contrary, I like to believe it still exists.

Extinct Animal of the Week V

Short-tailed Hopping Mouse

"The Short-tailed Hopping Mouse (Notomys amplus) is an extinct species of mouse from open stony (gibber) plains with desert grasses, low shrubs and sand ridges in the area around Charlotte Waters, near Alice Springs in Central Australia. The last record is from June 1896."