第1段

The extinct thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger, was a marsupial that bore a superficial resemblance to a dog. Its most distinguishing feature was the 13–19 dark brown stripes over its back, beginning at the rear of the body and extending onto the tail. The thylacine’s average nose-to-tail length for adult males was 162.6 cm, compared to 153.7 cm for females.

第2段

The thylacine appeared to occupy most types of terrain except dense rainforest, with open eucalyptus forest thought to be its prime habitat. In terms of feeding, it was exclusively carnivorous, and its stomach was muscular with an ability to distend so that it could eat large amounts of food at one time, probably an adaptation to compensate for long periods when hunting was unsuccessful and food scarce. The thylacine was not a fast runner and probably caught its prey by exhausting it during a long pursuit. During long-distance chases, thylacines were likely to have relied more on scent than any other sense. They emerged to hunt during the evening, night and early morning and tended to retreat to the hills and forest for shelter during the day. Despite the common name ‘tiger’, the thylacine had a shy, nervous temperament. Although mainly nocturnal, it was sighted moving during the day and some individuals were even recorded basking in the sun.

第3段

The thylacine had an extended breeding season from winter to spring, with indications that some breeding took place throughout the year. The thylacine, like all marsupials, was tiny and hairless when born. Newborns crawled into the pouch on the belly of their mother, and attached themselves to one of the four teats, remaining there for up to three months. When old enough to leave the pouch, the young stayed in a lair such as a deep rocky cave, well-hidden nest or hollow log, whilst the mother hunted.

第4段

Approximately 4,000 years ago, the thylacine was widespread throughout New Guinea and most of mainland Australia, as well as the island of Tasmania. The most recent, well-dated occurrence of a thylacine on the mainland is a carbon-dated fossil from Murray Cave in Western Australia,which is around 3,100 years old. Its extinction coincided closely with the arrival of wild dogs called dingoes in Australia and a similar predator in New Guinea. Dingoes never reached Tasmania, and most scientists see this as the main reason for the thylacine’s survival there.

第5段

The dramatic decline of the thylacine in Tasmania, which began in the 1830s and continued for a century, is generally attributed to the relentless efforts of sheep farmers and bounty hunters with shotguns. While this determined campaign undoubtedly played a large part, it is likely that various other factors also contributed to the decline and eventual extinction of the species. These include competition with wild dogs introduced by European settlers, loss of habitat along with the disappearance of prey species, and a distemper-like disease which may also have affected the thylacine.

第6段

There was only one successful attempt to breed a thylacine in captivity, at Melbourne Zoo in1899. This was despite the large numbers that went through some zoos, particularly London Zoo and Tasmania’s Hobart Zoo. The famous naturalist John Gould foresaw the thylacine’s demise when he published his between 1848 and 1863, writing, ‘The numbers of this singular animal will speedily diminish, extermination will have its full sway, and it will then, like the wolf of England and Scotland, be recorded as an animal of the past.’

第7段

However, there seems to have been little public pressure to preserve the thylacine, nor was much concern expressed by scientists at the decline of this species in the decades that followed. A notable exception was T.T. Flynn, Professor of Biology at the University of Tasmania. In 1914, he was sufficiently concerned about the scarcity of the thylacine to suggest that some should be captured and placed on a small island. But it was not until 1929, with the species on the very edge of extinction, that Tasmania’s Animals and Birds Protection Board passed a motion protecting thylacines only for the month of December, which was thought to be their prime breeding season. The last known wild thylacine to be killed was shot by a farmer in the north-east of Tasmania in 1930, leaving just captive specimens. Official protection of the species by the Tasmanian government was introduced in July 1936, 59 days before the last known individual died in Hobart Zoo on 7th September, 1936.

第8段

There have been numerous expeditions and searches for the thylacine over the years, none of which has produced definitive evidence that thylacines still exist. The species was declared extinct by the Tasmanian government in 1986.

灭绝的袋狼，也被称为塔斯马尼亚虎，是一种与狗有着表面相似之处的有袋动物。它最显著的特征是背部上的13-19条深棕色条纹，从身体后部开始延伸至尾巴。成年雄性袋狼的平均从鼻子到尾巴的长度为162.6厘米，雌性为153.7厘米。

袋狼似乎占据了除了茂密热带雨林以外的大多数地形，开阔的桉树林被认为是其主要栖息地。在进食方面，它是纯肉食动物，其胃部肌肉发达，能够膨胀以便一次吃大量食物，这可能是为了弥补长时间未成功捕猎和食物稀缺的时期的适应。袋狼不是快速奔跑者，可能是通过长时间追逐来捕捉猎物。在长距离追逐中，袋狼很可能更多地依赖嗅觉而不是其他感官。它们在傍晚、夜间和清晨出来狩猎，白天倾向于退到山丘和森林中寻找庇护所。尽管常被称为“虎”，袋狼有着胆怯、紧的性格。尽管主要是夜行性动物，但有人目击到它们在白天活动，甚至有些个体被记录在阳光下晒太阳。

袋狼的繁殖季节从冬季到春季延续，有迹象表明一年中的一些时间都有繁殖活动。袋狼与所有有袋动物一样，在出生时是微小的、没有毛发的。新生儿会爬进母亲腹部的袋里，并依附在四个乳头中的一个上，停留在那里长达三个月。当它们足够大离开袋子时，年轻的袋狼会待在一个巢穴中，比如一个深入的岩洞、隐藏良好的巢穴或空心的木头中，而母亲则去捕猎。

大约在4000年前，袋狼广泛分布于新几内亚和澳大利亚大陆的大部分地区，以及塔斯马尼亚岛。最近一次袋狼出现在大陆上的可靠日期是西澳大利亚墨瑞洞穴的一颗经过碳测年的化石，大约有3100年的历史。袋狼的灭绝与野生犬科动物叫做澳洲野犬在澳大利亚以及新几内亚的一种类似捕食者的到来密切相关。澳洲野犬从未到达塔斯马尼亚，大多数科学家都认为这是袋狼在那里存活的主要原因。

袋狼在塔斯马尼亚的戏剧性减少始于19世纪30年代，并持续了一个世纪，这主要归因于养羊农民和有枪猎人的不懈努力。虽然这场决心的运动无疑起到了重要的作用，但其他各种因素也很可能导致了这个物种的衰退和最终灭绝。这些因素包括与欧洲移民引入的野狗竞争、栖息地丧失以及猎物物种的消失，以及可能影响袋狼的一种类似犬瘟热的疾病。

在动物园中成功繁殖袋狼的只有一次，发生在1899年的墨尔本动物园。尽管许多袋狼经过了一些动物园，特别是伦敦动物园和塔斯马尼亚的霍巴特动物园，但没有其他成功的繁殖记录。著名的博物学家约翰·古尔德在1848年至1863年间出版的著作中预见了袋狼的灭亡，他写道：“这种奇特动物的数量将很快减少，灭绝将完全占主导地位，然后，就像英格兰和苏格兰的狼一样，被记录为过去的动物。”
然而，在随后的几十年里，似乎没有太多公众压力来保护袋狼，也没有科学家对这个物种的衰退表达太多关切。一个值得注意的例外是塔斯马尼亚大学生物学教授T.T. 弗林。1914年，他对袋狼的稀缺程度表示担忧，建议捕捉一些袋狼并放置在一个小岛上。但直到1929年，当袋狼濒临灭绝时，斯马尼亚的动物与鸟类保护委员会通过了一项决议，仅在12月份保护袋狼，因为那被认为是它们的主要繁殖季节。最后一只已知的野生袋狼于1930年被一名塔斯马尼亚东北部的农民射杀，只剩下圈养的个体。塔斯马尼亚政府于1936年7月正式保护袋狼物种，距离最后一只已知个体在1936年9月7日于霍巴特动物园死亡仅有59天。

多年来，进行了许多寻找袋狼的探险和搜索，但没有一个能提供确凿证据证明袋狼仍然存在。1986年，塔斯马尼亚政府宣布这个物种已经灭绝。