The Story of

the Last Tasmanian Tiger

Benjamin – The Story of the Last Tasmanian Tiger

The Tasmanian Tigers, better known as the Thylacines were the largest carnivorous marsupials of the modern era. The last identified wild Tasmanian tiger was killed in 1930, in Mawbanna, after the animal had been wandering as well as troubling the property owner.

The last Tasmanian Tiger, Benjamin was held as a captive at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania where it died on September 7th, 1936 on a day when Tasmania was facing extreme whether conditions, with tremendous heat during the day and similarly chilling cold at night

In a recent attempt, the Australian scientists have tried to clone one of the Tasmanian tigers but failed due to poor and insufficient DNA quality. However, fresh DNA is being searched, which may give positive results in future.

The plight of Benjamin

The last specimen of the Tasmanian Tiger - Benjamin was first captured in 1933 and was confined in the Hobart Zoo for better conservation and breeding. It was named Benjamin by the zoo authorities but its sex has never been confirmed. This animal could not sustain for more than three years and perished owing to some rough climatic conditions in 1936.

However, there had been much confusion regarding its name and sex determination. Some sources say that the creature never had any pet name and the particular name Benjamin was never used to refer any animal. Photographic evidences indicate the animal to be female but the zoo official say that it was a male.

Reports and sources believe that Benjamin could have lived longer if proper care and initiative was taken. It died mainly of ignorance and unawareness of the upbringing of the creature. The animal was mercilessly locked in its shelter and was exposed to the extremity of the climate, which was too rough for the creature to adjust and eventually it died making an end to the entire race of Tasmanian Tigers.

Benjamin features in a video footage spanning 62 seconds shot by David Fleay - a renowned environmentalist. This black and white recording shows the creature moving in its enclosure.

In the Hobart Zoo, Benjamin was served dead wallabies, rabbits, mutton, beef and at times even poultry. However, The Tasmanian tigers in the wild were known to be nocturnal ambush predators. The analysis of the skeletal frame of the tigers reveals that they preferred to single out its prey and exhaust them before killing.

These wild animals preferred freshly killed meat and its preys were mainly the pademelons, wallabies, some birds and small mammals.

According to the international standards, when there is no available record for any particular species for more than 50 years, it is considered extinct. After 1936, there was no proper evidence found to support the existence of the Tasmanian Tigers.