THE TASMANIAN WOLF 445 



The Ursine Dasyure proved a positive scourge to the 

 earlier Tasmanian sheep and poultry farmers ; and Govern- 

 ment action was necessary to remove a menace to the 

 prosperity of the colony. As late as thirty years ago in 

 one winter over a hundred savage depredators were cap- 

 tured within the confines of one large farm. Nowadays 

 the animal is found only in the less settled districts. 



THYLACINE (Thylacinus cynocephalus) . 

 Plate XLVI. Fig. 2. 



The Thylacine, or Tasmanian Wolf, is the largest of the 

 carnivorous marsupials. A casual observer would immedi- 

 ately classify it as a member of the canine family ; and, 

 indeed, it bears a more general resemblance to the wolf 

 than the Ursine Dasyure does to the bear. But the Tas- 

 manian Wolf is undoubtedly a true marsupial, with a well 

 developed pouch, although the marsupial bones are re- 

 placed by cartilages. The pouch opens backwards and 

 not forwards, as in the Kangaroos. 



Very dog-like, narrow-muzzled, and clean-limbed, the 

 Thylacine attains a length of four or five feet, including the 

 tail. Its coat is mainly greyish brown with a dozen or 

 more transverse black bands across the back and loins, 

 which gain for it the title Zebra-wolf. 



Hunting by scent like a true dog, the Thylacine exhibits 

 tremendous staying powers. For hours on end in a steady 

 canter it will track down kangaroos, wallabies, and smaller 

 marsupials, leaving its young to follow at their leisure to 

 join in the feast that will probably await them. Nothing 

 could have suited it better than for sheep to have been 

 introduced into its native regions. The imported flocks 

 speedily suffered to such an extent that the Tasmanian 

 Government put a price upon the heads of the marauding 

 tribe ; and this, in conjunction with the increasing settle- 

 ment of the island, has led to the extermination of the 

 Thylacine except in the more secluded mountainous 

 regions. 



