https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-tasmanian-tiger-was-branded-a-livestock-killer-new-research-challenges-that-myth-180989473/
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“Thylacines reminded European colonists of the wolves they knew back home.”
“When that creature, an older female , died in 1936, the species was presumed extinct.”
“The Tasmanian Tiger Was Branded a Livestock Killer.”
“Now, new research suggests those concerns were probably unfounded.”
“To the colonists, the striped, semi-nocturnal animals looked a lot like the wolves they had back home.”
““They decided that thylacines were a danger to livestock and put a bounty on its head,” Weisbecker adds.”
“Thylacine skulls - huge heads for high-impact snapping!”
“Bawden / Flinders University When European colonists settled in Tasmania some 200 years ago, they feared that thylacines, also known as Tasmanian tigers, would attack and kill their livestock.”
“The striped marsupials also had long, slender, delicate snouts—not at all like the robust, sturdy snouts found on grey wolves.”
“However, they were more closely related to kangaroos than canines.”
“The findings challenge the myth that thylacines were “ferocious predators of livestock,” a misconception that ultimately caused the species to die out, says lead author Vera Weisbecker , an evolutionary biologist at Flinders University, in a statement .”
“They probably used their long jaws and snouts to quickly snap up fast-moving small or medium-sized prey, rather than powerfully chomping down on large, struggling animals like wolves do.”
“A new analysis of Tasmanian tiger skulls, published August 31 in the journal Nature Communications , suggests the creatures primarily hunted small or medium-sized prey like bandicoots, not larger animals like sheep and cattle.”
“Thylacines only weighed about 37 pounds on average, about half as much as the average wolf.”
“When European settlers began arriving in the early 1800s, an estimated 5,000 thylacines lived in Tasmania.”
““Their extinction is a story of ignorance and lack of respect for Australia’s unique wildlife and its Indigenous custodians,” she adds.”
“Overall, the findings suggest thylacines probably weren’t capable of killing adult livestock.”
“David Fleay, public domain Thylacines once roamed throughout Australia.”