The remains of the last known thylacine were thought to be forever lost … until recently.
The thylacine was an Australian marsupial, though dark stripes along its back led to it being given the nickname Tasmanian tiger.
Unfortunately, an encroaching human population, a changing landscape and, later on, a bounty on its head put the thylacine on a short path to extinction.
The last known member of the species died in captivity at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobert, in 1936, when it died of exposure after being left outside overnight.
Its body travelled to the nearby Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, but for years curators and researchers couldn’t find it among the collection and assumed the last thylacine had been discarded.
That is until 2022 when museum curator Kathryn Medlock discovered an archived, unpublished taxidermist’s report from 1936 that mentioned the specimen.
After reviewing all the thylacine skins and skeletons in the collection and tracing them to their related records, one disarticulated skeleton and flattened skin remained – those of the last thylacine.
They had once formed part of an educational exhibit, toured around schools, but can now be seen on display in the museum.
Main image: A thylacine at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, Australie. © Dave Watts/JACANA/Gamma-Rapho/Getty