Text: Vientiane hardcore

Edited by Vientiane Hardcore

«——【·Preface·】——»

In 1933, naturalist David Frier came to the Beyomaris Zoo to photograph an animal that was already on the verge of extinction.

Just as he was preparing his photographic equipment, the patterned animal seemed to sense threatened.So he opened his mouth and "hah", wanting to get rid of him.

But David Frier didn't take this matter to heart, who knew that it actually took advantage of the other party's inattention and went around behind him,A bite on David Friel's ass.

David Frier quickly called the keeper, and with the help of the keeper, David Frier was able to take a picture of it reluctantly.

At the time, David Frier had always thought it was a male, but many people thought it was similar based on the features in the photo.

So no one can say why it's male or female.

Later, in 5/0, Beyomaris Zoo bought another of these animals,Then the zoo kept him for only 4 months before he died at the Beyomaris Zoo.

The animal's death did not attract social attention at the time.Because no one expected it to be the last of the species known to man.

Later, the zoo even said it was willing to provide a permit, as long as the hunters were willing to catch another one, and also said that it was willing to give the hunters a bounty of £30.

But no hunter has ever caught the animal sinceAlthough there are occasional sporadic reports in various places that some people seem to have seen the animal again, they are ultimately unable to provide empirical evidence.

So what is it about the animals that has such a rough life?

«——【Disappearing thylacine】——»

This animal is called a thylacine, and it has a very peculiar appearance.

It is a marsupial, and in terms of overall size, it resembles a dog, with a slender and athletic body, and an adult thylacine body length plus tail can reach 8.0 to 0.0 meters.

Its head is uniquely shaped, like a wolf and a fox, with a pointed nose and erect ears, which make it reveal a kind of alertness and sensitivity in appearance.

In addition to this, the most striking physical features of the thylacine,The tiger-like markings on its back.

These markings run from the shoulders to the base of the tail, and the dark stripes stand out on its light brown or gray fur.

In addition to the markings on its back, the thylacine's fur is also very special, its hair is short, dense and coarse, which allows it to maintain its body temperature and protect it from cold and humidity in a variety of complex natural environments.

In Australia's changing climate, this fur structure provides good protection for the thylacine, helping it adapt to the changing seasons and environments.

The thylacine has a pouch at the back of its body that resembles a kangaroo, which is one of its typical characteristics as a marsupial.

The female thylacine's pouch opens backwards, and the pups are not yet physically mature after birth, so they will continue to grow in the pouch.

The pouch provides a warm, safe environment for the pup, and as the pups continue to grow, they will gradually poke their heads out of the pouch to observe the outside world and begin to try to do simple activities out of the pouch.

But when in danger or when they need to rest, they will quickly return to their pouches for shelter.

Thylacines are found in a variety of environments such as grasslands, bushes and forests in Australia.

In the vast grasslands, it can hunt down small mammals that are good at running with its wide field of vision and excellent running ability.

Thylacines are nocturnal animals and usually find a secluded place to rest during the day to avoid the heat and other potential dangers during the day.

At night, their eyes are able to adapt to the faint light and catch every move of their prey.

It also has a well-developed sense of smell and is able to track the scent trail left by its prey, even if the prey has been gone for a while.

The thylacine is predominantly carnivorous, it is an opportunistic hunter that mainly preys on a variety of small to medium-sized mammals such as kangaroos, wallabies, possums, etc.

During predation, thylacines will often employ a combination of ambush and pursuit.

In addition to active predation, thylacines will not miss any opportunity to obtain food.If you encounter the carcasses left over from the killing of other animals, or animals that have died of natural causes, the thylacines will not hesitate to enjoy these "free lunches."

This scavenging behavior increases the thylacine's chances of survival during periods of relative scarcity of food resources to a certain extent, allowing it to better adapt to changes in the natural environment.

In terms of group structure, thylacines usually operate and live as a family unit.

A thylacine family generally consists of an adult thylacine pair and their cubs. In family groups, adult thylacines share responsibility for raising and protecting their young.

They teach their cubs how to find food, identify hazards, and adapt to their natural environment. When faced with external threats, adult thylacines do not hesitate to protect their cubs, showing a strong sense of calf protection.

However, with the arrival of European immigrants, the fate of the thylacine took a radical turn.

European immigrants brought with them large numbers of domestic animals, such as sheep and cattle, which became a potential source of food for thylacines.

Since thylacines sometimes prey on livestock, this has sparked discontent and fear among immigrants.

In order to protect their livestock, the migrants began a large-scale hunt against the thylacine.

They organize hunting squads and use various means, such as setting traps and using guns, to ruthlessly hunt thylacines.

As a result of long-term and large-scale human hunting, the thylacine population has declined dramatically.

And the local people have introduced a lot of alien species, and the thylacine has greatly decreased due to its population.In addition, the living environment has been severely damaged, and it is gradually at a disadvantage in the competition, which also accelerates the extinction process of the thylacine.

In the early days, the importance of thylacine in ecosystems and the serious consequences that its extinction could have were not fully recognized.

It wasn't until the thylacine population was already extremely scarce and on the verge of extinction that some attempts at conservation began, but by this time it was too late.

Due to the difficulty of thylacine breeding in captivity, and the fact that its population is already too small,Genetic diversity is severely lacking, and these efforts have ultimately failed.

«——【Conclusion·】 ——»

In 12/0, the global network released a news that the fur and bones of the last thylacine, which had been lost before, had been found again!

It turns out that after the death of the last thylacine in 1936 years,Its remains were sent to the Tasmanian Museum, but museum staff did not get an accurate description of the specimen.

So although the remains of this last thylacine have been brought to many places around the world by museums, it is not known what it is.

After being discovered and studied by the researchers, they learned that it was the last thylacine in the world, but fortunately it was well preserved.

Reference:

Global Network "Australian Media: The remains of the world's last thylacine, reappearing in Australia after 6 years" 0-0-0

Beiqing.com "7 years ago, how did the last thylacine in the world die? 》0-0-0