The Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine, was a unique marsupial predator native to Tasmania. This distinctive creature, with its striped back and dog-like appearance, was once the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial. Its features have captivated public imagination, leaving a mystery surrounding its ultimate fate and prompting questions about its current existence.
The Thylacine’s Disappearance
The question of how many Tasmanian tigers remain today has a definitive, yet somber, answer: none. The thylacine is officially considered extinct, a status confirmed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1982, and later in 1986.
Its disappearance was a complex process driven by multiple factors, primarily human activities. Intensive hunting played a significant role in the thylacine’s decline. European settlers, particularly farmers, viewed the animal as a threat to livestock. Bounty systems were established as early as 1830 by private landowners, and from 1888 to 1909, the Tasmanian government offered rewards of £1 for adult thylacines and ten shillings for pups. This led to the killing of at least 3,500 thylacines between 1830 and the 1920s.
Habitat destruction also reduced the thylacine’s range as land was cleared for farming. The introduction of competing species, such as wild dogs, also impacted their populations. Furthermore, an epidemic disease, possibly distemper-like, spread through the population in the 1920s, compounding the pressures on the species.
The last known thylacine, often referred to as “Benjamin,” died in captivity at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, Tasmania, on September 7, 1936. The species was granted protected status by the Tasmanian government just 59 days before its death, a measure that came too late.
Unconfirmed Sightings and Ongoing Searches
Despite its official extinction, reports of unconfirmed thylacine sightings have persisted for decades, fueling hope and fascination among enthusiasts. These anecdotal accounts often describe fleeting glimpses or indistinct videos, none of which have provided conclusive scientific evidence of the animal’s continued existence. Some studies analyzing these reports suggest that thylacines might have persisted in remote areas of Tasmania until the 1940s to 1970s, with a slim possibility extending into the early 2000s.
Many reported sightings originate from remote parts of Tasmania, particularly the island’s north-west, where dense wilderness could conceal a small, elusive population. There have also been claims of sightings on mainland Australia, particularly in Queensland, though these are viewed with greater skepticism due to the thylacine’s much earlier extinction on the continent.
Modern scientific efforts to locate a living thylacine employ advanced techniques to explore these remote areas. Researchers use camera traps, deploying them in promising habitats to capture photographic evidence of elusive wildlife. Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling, which involves collecting genetic material from water or soil samples to detect the presence of a species, is another method being considered. Acoustic monitoring, using specialized microphones to pick up potential thylacine vocalizations, also forms part of these ongoing search strategies. While these searches continue, no definitive proof of the thylacine’s survival has emerged, maintaining its status as an extinct species.
Bringing Back the Thylacine?
The concept of “de-extinction,” the process of resurrecting an extinct species, has emerged as a topic of scientific discussion and ambitious research, with the Tasmanian tiger being a prominent candidate. This undertaking primarily relies on advancements in genetic sequencing and editing technologies. Scientists have been able to sequence the thylacine’s entire genome from well-preserved specimens, including a 108-year-old pouch young and a 110-year-old skull, providing a comprehensive genetic blueprint.
Organizations like Colossal Biosciences, in partnership with institutions such as the University of Melbourne’s Thylacine Integrated Genetic Restoration Research (TIGRR) Lab, are actively pursuing this goal. Their approach involves using the genetic material from preserved thylacine samples to edit the DNA of a closely related living species, the fat-tailed dunnart, to create a proxy that closely resembles the thylacine.
The process presents several significant challenges. Obtaining viable and complete DNA from ancient specimens, despite recent breakthroughs, remains complex. Recreating a suitable surrogate is another hurdle, requiring the development of marsupial-specific assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), such as inducing ovulation and potentially using artificial wombs to gestate the engineered embryos. Should these scientific and technological barriers be overcome, the ultimate challenge would involve successfully reintroducing a viable population into an appropriate Tasmanian ecosystem, with the aim of restoring ecological balance.