Thylacine Myths

[thylacine1936]

So I thought about talking about some thylacine myths,myths that are rather historical myths.With this I mean myths that are historically false but have been pass as a fact.
One of these myths is the cause of death of the last captive thylacine aka Benjamin. The most common reason of his death is that he died from neglect due to his keeper lock him out of his night pen and then die from exposure to the cold weather.This myth has been pass as a fact from Bob Paddle and is sadly wrong.We dont really know the cause of his death but he probably died from old age with comparison of some illness,The thylacine was around 6 years old when he died and he had also signs of sarcopenia as you can see from the very last photo of the thylacine. So I really want to see your replies on this matter and more myths are coming soon.

 

[FBBird]

So I thought about talking about some thylacine myths,myths that are rather historical myths.With this I mean myths that are historically false but have been pass as a fact.
One of these myths is the cause of death of the last captive thylacine aka Benjamin. The most common reason of his death is that he died from neglect due to his keeper lock him out of his night pen and then die from exposure to the cold weather.This myth has been pass as a fact from Bob Paddle and is sadly wrong.We dont really know the cause of his death but he probably died from old age with comparison of some illness,The thylacine was around 6 years old when he died and he had also signs of sarcopenia as you can see from the very last photo of the thylacine. So I really want to see your replies on this matter and more myths are coming soon.

What would be the likely longevity for a Thylacine? Six years doesn’t seem a lot…..are Tasmanian Devils short lived? I know quolls are.

 

[thylacine1936]

What would be the likely longevity for a Thylacine? Six years doesn’t seem a lot…..are Tasmanian Devils short lived? I know quolls are.

Tasmanian devils live around 6 years in the wild and in captivity bairly 8 years.Now for the thylacines we dont know exactly their longevity but is estimated to be around 6 to 8 years too.

 

[Zoofan15]

It’s probable diet was small to medium mammals - not kangaroos, wallabies and sheep:

Whether or not Tasmanian tigers were capable of taking down large prey like kangaroos, emus or adult sheep has been a contentious issue. To answer this question requires further knowledge about the mechanical limitations of their skull. For this, our research team from the University of NSW has recently analysed the mechanical performance of the Tasmanian tiger’s skull relative to two living marsupial predators – the Tasmanian devil and spotted-tailed quoll.

We were surprised to find that the Tasmanian tiger’s skull had more stress “hot spot” zones than other large marsupial carnivores like the Tasmanian devil and spotted-tailed quoll, which hunt animals larger than themselves. Our results suggest that, in contrast, the jaws of the Tasmanian tiger were probably better suited to catching small- to medium-sized animals such as bandicoots, wallabies and possums.

The sheep killer myth of course contributed to its demise:

Despite their rarity, from the start the species was increasingly blamed for attacks on sheep. In an attempt to reduce the alleged threat of Tasmanian tigers to the sheep industry, bounties were paid by land owners and farmers from as early as 1830.

Although people ultimately identified feral dogs as the more serious and pressing menace, the media continued to depict the Tasmanian tiger as a villain. In the 1880s Hobart’s The Mercury newspaper described the public perception of the animal as “cowardly, as stealing down on the sheep at night and wantonly killing many more than it could eat, as being worthless for its skin”.

This is a really great article, well worth a read:

http://www.australasianscience.com.au/article/issue-june-2012/thylacine-myth.html

 

[Tim May]

What would be the likely longevity for a Thylacine? Six years doesn’t seem a lot…..are Tasmanian Devils short lived? I know quolls are.

Tasmanian devils live around 6 years in the wild and in captivity bairly 8 years.Now for the thylacines we dont know exactly their longevity but is estimated to be around 6 to 8 years too.

I believe that London Zoo's third thylacine, which arrived at London Zoo on 9th April 1856 and died in Berlin Zoo on 14th November 1864, holds the longevity record of eight years seven months for a thylacine outside Australia.

Another London Zoo thylacine lived almost as long, arriving in London on 14th November 1884 and dying there eight years four months later on 2nd April 1893.

 

[Pertinax]

One of these myths is the cause of death of the last captive thylacine aka Benjamin.

Have you researched the case for when the name 'Benjamin' was first used?

 

[thylacine1936]

Have you researched the case for when the name 'Benjamin' was first used?

Υes I have researched about it.It was first used by a Mr. Frank Darby,who claimed in 1968 in a radio interwie that he was the thylacine's keeper and that the animal's name was Benjamin. Fastfarward some years later in 1998,after research in the Beaumaris zoo's records,Bob Paddle couldn't find any records about his claim and after an interview with the zoo's curator Alison Reid,it turned out that the guy never worked at the zoo.So it turned out that the thylacine never had a name.

 

[Pertinax]

Υes I have researched about it.It was first used by a Mr. Frank Darby,who claimed in 1968 in a radio interwie that he was the thylacine's keeper and that the animal's name was Benjamin. Fastfarward some years later in 1998,after research in the Beaumaris zoo's records,Bob Paddle couldn't find any records about his claim and after an interview with the zoo's curator Alison Reid,it turned out that the guy never worked at the zoo.So it turned out that the thylacine never had a name.

Yes, that is the popular conception of where it originated....Alison Reid definately stated it didn't have a name. However, recently the son of David Fleay claimed that the name originated from his father and as evidence, that it was written on the back of his Thylacine photos. Also, in the book 'Animals Come First' written about David Fleay by his daughter Rosemary, there is a section on him filming the Thylacine, with a quote from Fleay himself that at the end mentions the word 'Benjamin' (once). Now either; 1. the quote marks have been edited into the wrong place, and it was actually Rosemary Thompson-Fleay making the last comment referring to the name, knowing it had been popularised in recent times. Or 2. it was David Fleay's quote, but also made many years after the event and again using the name after it had gained popular usage, so he had 'adopted' it here. Or 3. he really did use the name at the time....But its not mentioned anywhere else in his writings and there seems no real reason for him to have given it that name.

 

[Tim May]

Are Tasmanian Devils short lived? I know quolls are.

Tasmanian devils live around 6 years in the wild and in captivity barely 8 years...

There is a record of a Tasmanian devil that lived in Rotterdam Zoo for over twelve years; from 4th July 1981 until its death on 20th August 1993.

(Reference: Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; From the Living Collections of the World; Richard Weigl; 2005)

 

[MRJ]

There is a record of a Tasmanian devil that lived in Rotterdam Zoo for over twelve years; from 4th July 1981 until its death on 20th August 1993.

(Reference: Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; From the Living Collections of the World; Richard Weigl; 2005)

That is extraordinary.

 

[Bengal Tiger]

That is extraordinary.

No kidding, that’s like twice the average lifespan of a wild thylacine, and one and a half times the average lifespan of a captive thylacine.

 

[MRJ]

No kidding, that’s like twice the average lifespan of a wild thylacine, and one and a half times the average lifespan of a captive thylacine.

Except he was talking about Tasmanian devils, but the same applies.

 

[Bengal Tiger]

Except he was talking about Tasmanian devils, but the same applies.

Sheesh my bad

 

[oldrover]

Υes I have researched about it.It was first used by a Mr. Frank Darby,who claimed in 1968 in a radio interwie that he was the thylacine's keeper and that the animal's name was Benjamin. Fastfarward some years later in 1998,after research in the Beaumaris zoo's records,Bob Paddle couldn't find any records about his claim and after an interview with the zoo's curator Alison Reid,it turned out that the guy never worked at the zoo.So it turned out that the thylacine never had a name.

Because Darby was a fraud does not mean that Beaumaris' last thylacine wasn't named. As Pertinax has said, there are a number of potential explanations for Fleay using, or apparently using, the name. There's nothing telling us that Darby coined the name only that he used it, remember we're missing an overview of articles from around that time.