How Did The Tasmanian Tiger Hunt?

Publication Info:

Transcript:

Vera Weisbecker et al. 'Skull morphology of the extinct Tasmanian tiger suggests unique biting style', Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-76614-0

The Thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger went extinct because of humans. It was unfortunately associated with similar looking apex predators like wolves, coyotes, and tigers. It turns out, while the thylacine may have been the apex predator of its natural ecosystem, it was far from being a threat to humans or livestock.

Episode 335

Notes:

So, this is a thylacine skull, also known as the Tasmanian tiger, or the Tasmanian wolf, or the marsupial wolf. And all these names, unfortunately, have something in common, at least all the common names, uh because they're named after northern apex predators. And its association with apex predators was really its downfall, and that's becoming clearer and clearer every year, and there's new research supporting that. In case you don't know, the thylacine went extinct about 100 years ago. There are literally videos of this animal alive, and it was our fault. It was humans' fault that the thylacine is no longer alive. A big part of that was the prevailing idea that it would harm livestock, because this is an animal that is about the size of a coyote, looks a lot like a coyote, had a big, I guess, scary head. To put it in perspective, a thylacine the size of a coyote would have a skull roughly the same size as a gray wolf's, meaning that if you're used to animals like coyotes and wolves, and you see this animal, you're going to assume that it's going to act like a wolf or coyote. And it didn't, because, oddly enough, new research is making it look like they worked more like a crocodilian. The weird mix of features, like the oversized skull and the long, tall upper jaw, and the kind of almost mace-like snout. Those aren't features that you really see in mammals, but they are features that you see in some crocs. Cuz the thylacine was the last carnivore mammal doing what researchers are calling the lethal snap, which is extremely lethal against small animals like bandicoots and animals around the size of a rabbit, meaning that the thylacine, unfortunately and unsurprisingly, really wasn't that much of a threat to humans or livestock, even though it was the apex predator of its native environment. As usual, if you want more information, here's the source.