The Impact Of The Dingo On The Thylacine

Reasons for extinction of the Tasmanian Tigers

Discuss about The impact of the dingo on the ethylamine.

The thylacine, which is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger (due to its stripped lower back) or the Tasmanian wolf, was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of the modern times. It is believed that Tasmanian tigers became extinct in the 20h century and was the last surviving member of its family. According to the surviving evidences, the Tasmanian tigers were quite shy, nocturnal creatures, having an appearance like that of a medium to larger size dog (Smaill, 2015). Its stiff tail, abdominal pouch and dark strips that radiated from the top of its back made gave it a look similar to a tiger. Like the tigers and wolves of the Northern Hemisphere, the thylacine was an apex predator (Menzies, 2012). Thus it obtained its two common names. They became extremely rare or extinct on the Australian mainland before the British settlement, but survived in the island of Tasmania. The following paragraphs will provide a critical analysis on the possibility of the existence of the Tasmanian tigers in the remote areas of the Australian mainland. 

The extinction of the Tasmanian tigers is the last chapter of an old story that is thousands of years in the training. According to recent history, the existence of the Tasmanian tigers was limited to the island of Tasmania. But once upon a time, these creatures lived in the Australian mainland and even in Papua New Guinea as well. According to scientists, these creatures were hunted and killed by humans and dingoes, leading to the extinction of the Tasmanian tigers in those areas (Fillios, Crowther & Letnic, 2012). Due to absence of dingoes and a low human population in Tasmania, it became the last place for refuge to the Tasmanian tigers. By the time the British settled at Tasmania, only 5000 of the Tasmanian tigers were estimated to be left. The British settlement marked the beginning of for the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger. The British brought large amounts of livestock with them and thought that the Tasmanian tigers were fearsome livestock killers like the western wolves and coyotes. Though the tigers did kill some livestock, but the numbers were very less (Letnic, Fillios & Crowther, 2012). Due to these fears, the Tasmanian Government responded by instituting a bounty system and paid more than 2180 bounties. Moreover, the British had brought dogs with them, which also contributed in the extinction of the Tasmanian tigers through direct competition and by introducing new diseases (Minteer, 2015). Reports had shown that distemper like diseases killed many Tasmanian tigers before completely wiping out its whole existence. One of the main reasons for the extinction of the Tasmanian tigers was their inability to breed fast. Their breeding capability was not fast enough for replacing the population at the rate it was falling. The size of the females was comparatively smaller than the males and it was another reason for the extinction of the Tasmanian tigers as it became easier for the doges and dingoes to kill them (Sandler, 2014). Due to the high diminishing rate of Tasmanian tigers, the people began to realize what was happening. Zoos around the globe began to preserve live specimens, while they still had a chance and there was series of lucrative trade for the few last animals left. Benjamin was the last live specimen of the Tasmanian tigers, who was held in Hobart zoo in its native Tasmania (Wojahn, 2016). During the time Benjamin was in the zoo, the Tasmanian Government came to its senses and decided to pass legislations for the protection of the Tasmanian tigers. But it was too late. Just 59 days after the legislation was passed as a law, a negligent zookeeper locked out Benjamin out of his sheltered area on a cold night and Benjamin died of the exposure. Hence, this incident marked the death of the last remaining Tasmanian tiger in 1936. 

Possibility of existence of Tasmanian tigers in Australian mainland

All though, with the death of Benjamin, the last remaining Tasmanian tiger, the Tasmanian tigers became extinct, there have been various reports that show that the Tasmanian tigers still exist in the Australian mainland. Various video footages, pictures and sightings state that there is a possibility of the existence of the thylacine i.e. the Tasmanian tigers   in the Australian mainland (Sherkow & Greely, 2013).

According to the reports of the Australian Rare fauna Research, there have been 3800 Tasmanian tiger sightings on file form the Australian mainland since the extinction date of 1936 and the Mystery Animals Research Centre of Australia recorded 138 sightings up to 1998 (Smith, 2012). Moreover, the Department of Conservation and land management recorded 65 sightings, over the same period, in Western Australia. In addition, Buck and Joan Emburg, individual thylacine researchers, reported about 360 Tasmanian and 269 mainland, post-extinction 20^th century sightings and figures, collected from several sources. Most of the mainland sightings are reported from Southern Victoria, Australia.

Apart from these reports, few other sightings in 1973 also resulted in large publicity. Gary and Liz Doyle shot a ten seconds 8 mm film that showed an unknown animal running alongside a road in South Australia. But it was impossible to identify whether it was a thylacine or not due to the bad quality of the film (Jørgensen, 2016). One of the researchers of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service saw an animal at night for three minutes near Arthur River in northwestern Tasmania, which he believed to be a thylacine in 1985, due to which a government funded search was initiated. 

An Aboriginal tracker, Kevin Cameron produced five photographs that showed a digging Tasmanian tiger in Western Australia in 1985. In 1997, missionaries and locals of Mount Carstensz in Western New Guinea had reported about thylacine sightings. In February, 2005 a tourist from German claimed to have clicked a digital picture of a thylacine near Lake St Clair National Park, but the photos were not established as authentic photos. These photos were published after fourteen months in April 2006. The photos only showed the back of the animal and according to the persons studying the photos they were not inconclusive as an evidence for the existence of the thylacine. Due to the uncertainty about the continued existence of the species, the thylacine is sometimes regarded as a cryptid (Carthey & Banks, 2014). Furthermore, in 2008, a group of thylacines was captured on video tape in Victoria, Australia. But, again, the footage was not clear and due to such reasons no conformation can be made about the existence of the Tasmanian tigers. Based on one of the sightings in 1983 from the Cape York Peninsula of mainland Australia, a group of managementled by Bill Laurence announced for surveying the area, suing camera traps, for finding thylacine existence in 2017 (Prowse, 2013).

Evidences of existence

The above evidence signifies the importance to preserve such species and ensure their existence is safe and secure. It is equally imperative to comprehend the probable risk that tigers pose to humankind. However, considering the present population trend of the species, it is important to develop conservation action that is essential to enhance tolerance for the Tasmanian tigers. This can only be achieved through community support involvement in and support for the tiger conservation initiatives. 

Therefore, the Tasmanian tigers were last seen over 2000 years ago. As stated earlier, after the British settlement in Australia, the Tasmanian tigers began to take refuge in the isolated islands of Tasmania. The few last Tasmanian tigers also began to become extinct after the British arrived Tasmanian islands. Benjamin, the last surviving Tasmanian tiger, was held in a zoo in Tasmania also died in 1936. This year marked the extinction of the Tasmanian tigers and since the no Tasmanian tiger has been seen. This historical facts and incidents prove that the creature has become extinct and in the present day, its existence can be found only in the form of fossils. But, on the other hand, in the post extinction period after 1936, sightings of Tasmanian tigers in many Australian mainland areas have been reported by various institutions and individuals by way of video tapes, photographs and films. But unfortunately, the sightings failed to prove the continued existence of the Tasmanian tigers, as the videos, films and photographs were of poor quality. Moreover, based on such reports, findings have been made but, nothing could be found (Welch, 2015). Hence, it cannot be clearly stated that the Tasmanian tigers still exist, as no authentic proof of their continued survival could be established till now. 

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is clear that the Tasmanian tigers became extinct with the death of Benjamin, the last surviving Tasmanian tiger, in 1936. After 1936, there were various reports on sightings of the Tasmanian tigers. Some of these sightings were recorded in the form of pictures, videos and films but were unable to prove the continued existence of the Tasmanian tigers. Although, the sightings did not confirm anything regarding the existence of the Tasmanian tigers, most of them were reported from various areas of the Australian mainland. The Government along with various scientists have been planning searches by way of camera traps for finding the continued existence of the Tasmanian tigers as a large number of reports from various Australian mainland areas state sightings of the Tasmanian tigers. Although, it is not yet proved that the Tasmanian tigers still exists in the Australian mainland, reports of so many sightings in the Australian mainland can make it possible for the Tasmanian tigers to be still in existence in the Australian mainland.

References:

Carthey, A. J., & Banks, P. B. (2014). Naïveté in novel ecological interactions: lessons from theory and experimental evidence. Biological Reviews, 89(4), 932-949.

Fillios, M., Crowther, M. S., & Letnic, M. (2012). The impact of the dingo on the thylacine in Holocene Australia. World Archaeology, 44(1), 118-134.

Jørgensen, D. (2016). Presence of Absence, Absence of Presence, and Extinction Narratives. Nature, Temporality and Environmental Management: Scandinavian and Australian Perspectives on Peoples and Landscapes, 45-58.

Letnic, M., Fillios, M., & Crowther, M. S. (2012). Could direct killing by larger dingoes have caused the extinction of the thylacine from mainland Australia?. PLoS One, 7(5), e34877.

Menzies, B. R., Renfree, M. B., Heider, T., Mayer, F., Hildebrandt, T. B., & Pask, A. J. (2012). Limited genetic diversity preceded extinction of the Tasmanian tiger. PLoS One, 7(4), e35433.

Minteer, B. A. (2015). The perils of de-extinction. Minding Nature, 8(1), 11-17.

Prowse, T. A., Johnson, C. N., Lacy, R. C., Bradshaw, C. J., Pollak, J. P., Watts, M. J., & Brook, B. W. (2013). No need for disease: testing extinction hypotheses for the thylacine using multi?species metamodels. Journal of Animal Ecology, 82(2), 355-364.

Sandler, R. (2014). The ethics of reviving long extinct species. Conservation Biology, 28(2), 354-360.

Sherkow, J. S., & Greely, H. T. (2013). What if extinction is not forever?. Science, 340(6128), 32-33.

Smaill, B. (2015). Tasmanian tigers and polar bears: The documentary management moving image and (species) loss. NECSUS. European Journal of Media Studies, 4(1), 145-162.

Smith, N. (2012). The return of the living dead: unsettlement and the Tasmanian tiger. Journal of Australian Studies, 36(3), 269-289.

Welch, D. M. (2015). Thy Thylacoleo is a thylacine. Australian Archaeology, 80(1), 40-47.

Wojahn, D. (2016). Two-Minute Film of the Last Tasmanian Tiger. Ploughshares, 42(1), 165-166.