Thylacine  (Thylacinus cynocephalus)

The thylacine once ranged throughout Tasmania, mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea, although it may have been lost from the latter two locations more than 2,000 years ago (2). It was still widespread in Tasmania at the time of European colonisation but by the early 20th Century had been massively reduced, and in 1930 the last recorded killing of a wild individual occurred (1). The last captive thylacine (known as Benjamin) persisted in Hobart Zoo until 1936, and despite a number of unsubstantiated sightings, the species is now believed to be extinct (3).

Thylacines preferred open forest and grassland (1). As the human population expanded however, thylacines retreated into the more inaccessible hinterland of Tasmania (7).