Tasmanian tiger

Scientific name: Thylacinus

● cynocephalus (thylacine).

Family: Marsupials. A relative of

● other Australian marsupials such as the kangaroo which all carry their young in pouches.

Size: About 60cm tall and ●

100-130cm long, weighing

20-30kg, slightly smaller than a grey wolf.

Markings: Dark stripes on its back, ● earning it the nickname “tiger”.

History: Australia’s top land ● predator until humans introduced the dingo about 3500 years ago. It became extinct on the mainland about 3200 years ago but survived in Tasmania until some time after the last captured animal died in Hobart Zoo in 1936.