Here is a picture of a male Thylacine.
Here is a litter of Thylacines.
The amazing angle of the open mouth is much greater than that of dogs, cats or other marsupials. It is thought that this posture was to scare off a potential fight or battle with other males.
Here is a picture of one sleeping.
This picture is of a male and a female.I have always been interested in the Thylacine which became extinct in the 1930s. At one time in history they were in Australia but died out many years ago. They were also, located in New Zealand and finally Tasmania. They were wiped out because they found feeding on sheep easier than some of their local prey. This marsupial used to keep the kangaroo populations in check until man brought sheep and other animals to the continent which threw off the balance in nature. The rabbits introduced competed with some of the other plant eating animals and the fox introduced to keep the rabbits in check also attacked the slower moving marsupials who have very few predators keeping them in balance. One of these was the Thylacine.
Though this animal is considered extinct, there have been sightings in Tasmania along with foot prints that appear similar to the Thylacine. Their howl has also been noted. What is fascinating to me is that this predator, like other marsupials carried their young in pouches. It was also difficult to tell the female from the male, save their size differences, due to this pouch covering their genitalia. It was thought it might have been protection for the male running through the thorny brush whilst running down prey.
I am one of those dreamers who hope this beautiful animal is still with us but smart enough to stay away from us.
6 comments:
Thanks, Butch, for an introduction to this fascinating creature, who is hopefully only in hiding and not truly extinct.
That's quite a jaw - clearly the thylacine could be a fifth panel in Gary Larson's classic FAR SIDE cartoon: "How Nature Says 'Don't Touch'".
; )
Greg: I really hope they are still here and in hiding. ( one can hope )
Good point about the Larson cartoons.
It would only take one bite from this animal to teach that lesson! ;)
I can't understand how they had them in zoos but let them die out. I hope as well there are some hiding out but I doubt it. The sightings I feel sadly are the same as the bigfoot sightings here, makes a good story but false.
Steve: I wonder as well. I hope they were smart enough to stay away from man and his unthinking ways.
The last of them in captivity died out in the 1930s and the science of the time wasn't sophisticated to the point of saving eggs or sperm for the future. Those methods were perhaps, only a dream during that time.
Interesting, I've never heard of the Thylacine before...wonderful
Wonder Man: I think it was a beautiful animal and I hope they are in hiding until man's brain develops to the point where he doesn't have to kill everything in sight that scares him or becomes easy prey.
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