LOST TO US FOREVER
The Tasmanian Wolf
The Tasmanian Wolf is for formally known as Thylacinus cynocephalus.
The first recorded discovery of the Tasmanian Wolf was published on the 21st of April 1805 in the New South Wales Advertiser and the Sydney Gazette. In 1936 it was believed the last Tasmanian Wolf died in captivity, but there were supposed sightings of this animal for many years to come. It wasn't until the 1980's that people gave up there search for a remaining Tasmanian Wolf.
The Tasmanian Wolf first lived in Australia, but it became extinct there because they couldn't compete with the Dingo for food. The Tasmanian Wolf then moved to the surrounding islands, like Tasmania, and thrived until the Europeans arrived. The Tasmanian Wolf is a meat eating marsupials that hunted alone or in pairs, ate prey smaller or equal to their size, and likely had a niche similar to a coyote or large fox.
These beautiful animals became extinct due mostly to angry humans. When the Europeans arrived they started clearing the Tasmanian Wolf's habitat for farming, this reduced it's food supply and caused it to start eating the European's sheep. These angry farmers started a campaign to destroy the Tasmanian Wolf and in the mid 1800's land owners started paying a bounty for the death of these creatures. The landowner's and eventually the government's bounty caused the Tasmanian Wolf to be shot, poisoned, trapped, hunted , and overall exterminated through the early 1900's. In 1910 an unknown disease decimated the few remaining members of the population.
The extinction of the Tasmanian Wolf disrupted the natural order found in Tasmania. This animal was at the top of the food chain and when it became extinct the populations of it's previous prey rose dramatically past reasonable limits.
The extinction of the Tasmanian Wolf could have been prevented had humans not destroyed it's habitat for farming, and then arranged lots of killings when it searched for food on their land. Another way this could have been prevented is starting the protection of the Tasmanian Wolf sooner.
Bibliograpy
"Tasmanian Wolf: An Extinct Species." Bagheera. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"Australian Museum." The Thylacine -. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"EDGE of Existence." EDGE of Existence. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.