Tasmanian Tiger – Their Looks and Behaviour
Ancient fossils and aboriginal rock art suggests that the Tasmanian
tiger population was widely spread in Australia mainland, New Guinea and
Tasmania. Slowly with time, human intervention as well as climatic
changes resulted in the extinction of these species.
Although it was called, tiger but it looked like a dog with black
stripes on its back and it was the largest known carnivorous marsupial
of modern times. The scientific name for the Tasmanian tiger is
Thylacine and it is believed that they have become extinct in the 20th
century.
How did The Tasmanian tiger look like?
The Tasmanian Tiger is a large but shorthaired dog with a firm tail that
reaches out of the body like that of a kangaroo. Few even compared it
with the Hyena for its strange looks. The stripes were more prominent in
a young Thylacine and it faded, as they grew older. It had thick hair
and a long tail with a crest on its tip. The colour of the fur varied
from light brown to dark brown.
The present portrayal of the creature is based on the specimens of
fossil records, skeletal relics, stuffed souvenirs and skins. Owing to
its unusual structure and shape, the Europeans compared it with the
Hyena. Its yellow-brown coat comprises of more than 15 clear dark
stripes that ran across its back and base of its tail. This gave it the
nickname of a Tiger.
The female Tasmanian tiger had a pouch with four teats but unlike other
marsupials, the pouch opened at the back. The males had a scrotal
pocket, which was rare amongst the Australian marsupials.
The Tigers’ behaviour
 These creatures were shy and mute animals but barked huskily at the time
when it was excited and restless. While hunting its prey, they made a
distinguishing terrier-like yelp and repeated it every few seconds.
Unluckily, there are no records of their barks and squeals.
The Tasmanian Tiger loved to stay away from human contacts, which made
the early settlers believe that they were timid creatures. It had a
nervous personality compared to other marsupials. When they were
captured, they used to die out of fear and shock. They hardly used to
put up some resistance before their enemies. They had a high sense of
smell that helped them to track their prey and eventually kill them
down. They were not very swift in reaction and rather looked lazy and it
ran briskly and awkwardly when chased.
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