thylacine

Everyday

The Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, a striped, dog-like marsupial (pouched animal) that lived in Australia and Tasmania and is believed to have died out; the last known one died in a zoo in Hobart nearly a hundred years ago. tree →

In the lessons

In science and history lessons it is a sad example of extinction caused by hunting, habitat loss and disease. In Australia it is a symbol of Tasmania. Phrases: Tasmanian tiger, last thylacine.

Examples

• The thylacine had stripes on its back like a tiger. tree →
• The last known thylacine died in a zoo in Hobart. tree →
• Thylacines carried their babies in a pouch. tree →
• Farmers hunted thylacines because they thought they killed sheep. tree →
• Some people say they have seen a thylacine, but nobody has proved it. tree →
• Scientists study old thylacine bones and films. tree →

Note

Countable. Pronounced THY-luh-seen. It was not a real tiger or wolf; it was a marsupial. Claims of sightings are unproven.