The thylacine: extinct or hidden?

 The thylacine or Tasmanian wolf was a carnivorous marsupial, native to Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, and it´s believed that it became extinct in 1936 with the death of the last known specimen in captivity. However, some specimens may still remain in the wild.

The thylacine was a top predator, and although it looks like a canid, evolutionarily it´s closer to species such as the kangaroo, the koala and especially the Tasmanian devil, all belonging to the group of marsupials. 

In continental Australia and probably New Guinea as well, the thylacine became extinct before the arrival of European settlers, and although it survived on the island of Tasmania it was already rare during pre-colonial times. The main causes of their extinction were intensive hunting, encouraged by government rewards, competition with wild dogs introduced during British colonization and the reduction of their habitat. 

Despite the species being officially declared extinct by the IUCN, hundreds of sightings have been reported from 1936 to the present, mainly in Tasmania, in the southern part of the State of Victoria and in West Papua. Although most of the reports have been denied, an important part has generated a stir in the scientific community. There are even recordings that could be real, one of them was filmed in 2008 and although its veracity was not confirmed, it could not be denied either. 

Whatever the current reality of the thylacine, it teaches us how important the conservation of ecosystems to avoid the extinction of species, and is an example of what humanity can´t repeat again.