# Tasmanian Tiger **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200 "2002-05-28T16:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/1 "2002-05-28T16:56:00Z")
**GAAAAH!!!** I had a hunch the ol’ C64 & 1541 DD SDMB server was having problems so I did a copy of it before I hit submit, so I’ll just paste it here… * * * Just saw this on Yahoo earlier. Thought it may interest people here. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=585&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20020528/sc\_nm/science\_australia\_cloning\_dc](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=585&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20020528/sc_nm/science_australia_cloning_dc) Looks like they’re agressively looking at cloning a Thylacine. As a side, I wonder if they are seriously looking in the wild for exisiting ones as last I heard there were several _rumours_ of them still running around… Anyhow, another interesting link I found on the subject: [http://www.austmus.gov.au/thylacine/](http://www.austmus.gov.au/thylacine/) Does anyone know what the closest relative of one is? A devil possibly? ---
**Author:** ![rubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@rubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rubes)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/2 "2002-05-28T17:06:15Z")
I read this with keen interest. I might be one of the few, but I don’t have issues with cloning, although I did see this documentary once, Jurasic Park, and things got nutso there ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/3 "2002-05-28T17:20:26Z")
SO COOL! Yeah, there were lots of rumours, and sightings from what I heard, but never by anyone official enough to make it no extinct. They probably weren’t real sightings anyway. I like thylacines. I like genetics. I like this plan. ---
**Author:** ![Venoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Venoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venoma)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/4 "2002-05-28T17:48:50Z")
yay! Best hope for cloning is recently extinct mammals, after all. Anyone know of work done cloning avians, yet? (whole different ballpark seeing as they normally develop in an egg, as opposed to a host) ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/5 "2002-05-28T20:02:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > > \*\*Does anyone know what the closest relative of one is? A devil possibly? \*\* Yup. [The Tasmanian Devil](http://www.caddishatch.com.au/tiger.htm) to be precise. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/6 "2002-05-28T20:09:48Z")
Most zoologists seem to be classifying the Thylacine (which I’ve usually seen called the Tasmanian wolf, not tiger) as the only known species in family Thylacynidae, but with the Dasyuridae (the other Australian carnivorous marsupials) as the closest family), so anything from that family, including the T. Devil (the black marsupial wolverine, not the Warner Brothers character), would qualify as “closest known relative.” Any Oz posters know anything more about the search for living Thylacines? There used to be a thread here that had a link to movies of caged living Thylacines from back in the 20s – really wonderful to see actual video footage of a probably-extinct animal! ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/7 "2002-05-28T22:28:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*Most zoologists seem to be classifying the Thylacine (which I’ve usually seen called the Tasmanian wolf, not tiger) \*\* Also known as the Tasmanian Pouched Wolf, Kangaroo Wolf, Zebra Wolf, or the Hyena Opossum! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/8 "2002-05-28T22:45:16Z")
I find this extremely cool. I hope they manage to have one running one in my lifetime, which seems pretty likely (assuming I live another ten years or so, at least). ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/9 "2002-05-29T00:10:41Z")
I think this is great! But hopefully this doesn’t lead to more screenings of _The Howling III_ ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/10 "2002-05-29T00:13:05Z")
Though the other names given in this thread are also used, “Tasmanian Tiger” is the most commonly used name in Australia for _Thylacinus cynocephalus_. **Polycarp** , I suspect the view of the academic community is that the animal is, in fact, extinct, and I am unaware of the existence of any organised programme trying to locate thylacines in the wild. That said, there is the occasional, undocumented sighting reported by hikers and the like. Tasmania is home to some very rugged wilderness country, so it is possible that a small colony of thylacines could exist without human knowledge, but I wouldn’t be putting money on it. On the TV news yesterday, I saw the 1920s-30s footage of the Tasmanian Tiger. I’ve been moved by it every time I’ve seen it. It’s a very handsome animal, and I can only wish the cloning programme every success. [_Sydney Morning Herald_ report](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/28/1022569773166.html) [Photo Gallery of the Tasmanian Tiger, also from the _Herald_](http://www.smh.com.au/photography/regular/national22/2002/05/28/index.html) To put this in perspective though, the white settlers in Tasmania did pretty much the same thing to the [human population](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/28/1022569771051.html) there as well, but that’s gonna get me into GD or Pit territory if I start ranting about it. From the linked article: _Truganini died in Hobart in 1876, aged about 73. She was described as the last Tasmanian Aborigine to succumb to generations of colonial illness, persecution, murder and dispossession._ [sub]If reading this post at a later date, and the links don’t work, please change the “www” to “old” in your browser, and they will probably be ok.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/11 "2002-05-29T00:50:30Z")
You’re all going to hate me for saying this, but one problem with the cloning programme is what we’re going to do with these critters when we clone them. Our current eco-system isn’t set up to support them and it would seem a shame to recreate a species who destined to live its life in captivity as a tourist attraction (although I guess we **could** use them for dingo control…). ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/12 "2002-05-29T01:10:23Z")
If you have QuickTime installed, you can get the thylacine movie [at this site](http://www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-54F7CK?open). They used to have it at the Thylacine Museum website, but that unfortunately [seems to be closed now](http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/). ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/13 "2002-05-29T02:08:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > > \*\*To put this in perspective though, the white settlers in Tasmania did pretty much the same thing to the [human population](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/28/1022569771051.html) there as well, but that’s gonna get me into GD or Pit territory if I start ranting about it. > \*\* [hijack]Agreed, but it’s a story that needs to be told. For those who are interested, there’s an excellent recent piece of historical fiction called [_English Passengers_](http://www.randomhouse.com/vintage/read/englishpassengers/)which weaves the Tasmanian genocide into the story. My (white) great-great grandmother was born there in the 1820’s (apparently of free settlers), and it’s a struggle to come to terms with having ancestors who could have participated in this monstrous deed. Of course, we Americans had plenty of ethnic cleansings of our own.[/hijack] > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by reprise \* > **You’re all going to hate me for saying this, but one problem with the cloning programme is what we’re going to do with these critters when we clone them. Our current eco-system isn’t set up to support them and it would seem a shame to recreate a species who destined to live its life in captivity as a tourist attraction (although I guess we could use them for dingo control…).** I’m not sure I agree, if only because so much of Tasmania is locked away in public lands. If parts of Tasmania are large and wild enough that we don’t _know_ if there are any Thylacine left, then surely there must be room for a few to live in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/14 "2002-05-29T02:16:54Z")
The Tasmanian Tiger is on the label of Cascade beer, which hales from Tasmania and is quite tasty. Here is a not so great link to the label [http://tolsun.oulu.fi/kbs-bin/directbeer?Nr=1388](http://tolsun.oulu.fi/kbs-bin/directbeer?Nr=1388) and another one [http://www.brewing.co.nz/20000719cascade.htm](http://www.brewing.co.nz/20000719cascade.htm) ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/15 "2002-05-29T02:18:34Z")
While much of Tasmania is - indeed - WH listed, Tasmania is still **tiny** , and the amount of “reserved land” tinier still when you are talking about a predatory animal. Apart from what’s happened to the dingo, we haven’t even yet really considered which other natural prey of the Thylacine have disappeared or become all but extinct over the past 50 years. We could probably clone the woolly mammoth; we could probably clone dinosaur - that we “could” doesn’t mean that we “should”, especially if we have destroyed the habitats they once occcupied. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/16 "2002-05-29T02:19:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by reprise \* > \*\*You’re all going to hate me for saying this, but one problem with the cloning programme is what we’re going to do with these critters when we clone them. Our current eco-system isn’t set up to support them and it would seem a shame to recreate a species who destined to live its life in captivity as a tourist attraction (although I guess we **could** use them for dingo control…). \*\* I’m not sure about that. I suspect that if this thing actually works, and in, say, a hundred years from now, we have considerable numbers of thylacines in the wild in Tasmania, their absence for two hundred years or so may not even register as a blip on the ecological timeline. I’d wager it’s a better option for the Tasmanian ecosystem than extinction. As a layman, I’d be interested to know how long a species must be absent from an ecosystem before it could be classified an _introduced species_ upon its return. It’s not like we’re talking about the introduction of (and subsequent damage done by) cats, rabbits, canetoads, or foxes. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/17 "2002-05-29T02:25:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by reprise \* > \*\*You’re all going to hate me for saying this, but one problem with the cloning programme is what we’re going to do with these critters when we clone them. Our current eco-system isn’t set up to support them and it would seem a shame to recreate a species who destined to live its life in captivity as a tourist attraction (although I guess we **could** use them for dingo control…). \*\* I’m not sure about that. I suspect that if this thing actually works, and in, say, a hundred years from now, we have considerable numbers of thylacines in the wild in Tasmania, their absence for two hundred years or so may not even register as a blip on the ecological timeline. I’d wager it’s a better option for the Tasmanian ecosystem than extinction. As a layman, I’d be interested to know how long a species must be absent from an ecosystem before it could be classified an _introduced species_ upon its return. It’s not like we’re talking about the introduction of (and subsequent damage done by) cats, rabbits, canetoads, or foxes. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/18 "2002-05-29T11:57:03Z")
Great thread! Anybody know if the Japanese have gotton along with their plans to clone the ancient mammoths? I’d love to see these back in the wild! Seriously, I don’t see a problem with re-introducing these ancient species-the more diversity, the better! ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/19 "2002-05-29T12:32:14Z")
Well, I think the whole cloning idea sucks! From what I have read about the creature (and I’ve read a fair bit 'cos I did an HPS assignment on this very subject last year), the thylacine was ALREADY in a precarious position BEFORE the advent of the white-man. While their demise was certainly hastened by culling and habitat-loss, there is evidence to suggest that they would have become extinct anyway…their presence on the island of Tas. was never widespread, and they had previously lost their foothold in Vic and SA PRIOR to white settlement. Like many other species before it (and many more in the future, including possibly ourselves) it could no longer maintain a livelihood in an environment that favoured others. That’s Darwinian evolution. That’s the way it works, even without the interference of meddlesome humans. Re-introducing a creature that has no place in the current ecosystem is plainly stoooopid. It might be cute, it certainly attracts the media attention and therefore the funding possibilities, it might help science understand the mechanics of cloning better, but I do not believe it is the wise thing to do. That’s my two-bob’s worth ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200/20 "2002-05-29T13:34:01Z")
So this is what it’s boiling down too… Kinda interesting, too. We have an animal which made extinct by humans, yet it was also one which had already been in evolutionary doubt. We have an ecosystem which may have suffered as a result of one of its top-level predators being removed, yet which also may have already adapted to its absence in such a way that the return of that predator could prove damaging. The thylacine looks cool though. Is that too shallow an argument? 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasmanian-tiger/111200.md?page=2)