Why are Tasmanian Tigers Extinct – A Detailed Research
Scientists and researchers from across the globe have devoted much of
their time and research to find whether the Tasmanian Tigers still exist
or not. The Tasmanian tiger also known as the Thylacine has been
declared extinct 23 years back but was wiped off from the Australian
mainland even much before in the 1940’s.
Researchers like Dr Austin from the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA
collects animal droppings that are found around Tasmania in the late
1950’s and even in the 60’s and have conserved it in the Art Gallery and
Tasmanian Museum. Dr Austin, who took special interest to collect
evidences and reports on the Tasmanian Tigers, also extracted DNA from
bones of both the Tasmanian Tiger and Tasmanian Devil that was once
found on mainland Australia. Most researchers believe that these Tigers
roamed Australia in large numbers almost 2000 years ago.
The Tigers’ Fate
The evidences from the ancient Aboriginal rock paintings and fossils
reveal that the major population of the Thylacine was based mainly
throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea.
In 1803, when the European settlers arrived in Australia, there was a
healthy population of Tasmanian Tigers. They almost looked like large
dogs with stripes on their back. They had a heavy stiff tail, a large
head and these tigers were the world’s largest marsupial carnivore. The
last Tasmanian tiger was captured in 1933 and was kept in the Hobart Zoo
but it died three years later in 1936 making an end to this species.
The Australian media became so very anxious about the Tasmanian Tigers
that they even offered a reward of 1 million dollars for anyone who
would find or could prove that they are still alive somewhere in
Australia.
Many still believe that these tigers can be seen in the ancient forests
of Tasmania where this mysterious animal swirls like smoke in its usual
habitat.
Few factors behind their extinction
It is believed that the fierce and wild hunters of Australia, Dingo is
somewhat responsible for the extinction of the Tasmanian tigers. These
wild dogs may have competed for food and shelter with the Thylacine
resulting in the death of the tigers from areas like Papua New Guinea
and Australian mainland.
In the early 18th century, after the European settlers started
inhabiting most of the lands in the Australian mainland and in Tasmania,
much of the forests and grasslands were cleared so that they could be
converted to farmlands. This movement led to a huge clash between the
settlers and the native animals who could not cope with the
environmental situation, which resulted in the extermination of these
fine creatures.
Evidences have been collected which suggests that almost 2000 Tasmanian
tigers were killed when a large portal company announced a handsome
reward for killing a tiger on its properties.
Another possibility is that the Tasmanian tigers could not deal with the
significant change in the climate and their living area. Shortage of
water and food could be another primary reason of their extinction.
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