12 Animals The Human Race Tragically Killed Off

8. Tasmanian Tiger (Extinct 1936)

Tasmanian Tiger
Wikipedia/EJKellerBaker

The Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) - or "thylacine" - was a large carnivorous marsupial, resembling a cross between a kangaroo and a wolf.

A species native to both the island state of Tasmania in Australia as well as the mainland, and also to New Guinea, it was still populous until British settlers arrived during the 18th and 19th Centuries.

The thylacine had a pouch - like a kangaroo (although both sexes of the Tasmanian tiger had this, unlike the kangaroo) - but it was hunted due to the fact it was carnivorous, and its habitat was also encroached upon by human settles. Its extinction was confirmed in 1936 - although there have been some unproven sightings of the beast since.

 
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NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.