FIELD AND FOREST. 1 59 



The specimen described by Mr. Harris was caught in a trap baited 

 with the flesh of the kangaroo ; and when opened, the remains of a 

 half digested echidua were found in its stomach. Nor is this wolf 

 always so dainty ; but often prowls along the seashore, searching for 

 food amongst the heterogenous masses of animal and vegetable sub- 

 stances which the waves fling upon the strand, and which are re- 

 newed, or added to, with each succeeding tide ; he detaches the mo- 

 luses from the sea-edged rocks, and these, with the shore crabs which 

 so plentifully stud the beach after every flood, are esteemed as luxuries. 

 The statement that he haunts the seaside for the purpose of fishing is 

 without foundation, though dead and stranded fish, seals, etc., are by 

 no means unwholesome articles of diet. The only approach to dainti- 

 ness, so far as observed, is exhibited towards the wombat, as nothing 

 will induce it to prey upon this fat and sluggish marsupial quadruped, 

 which is not only abundant in and about the haunts of the Thylacinus^ 

 but would seem most edible, seeing that it subsists upon fruits alone. 

 No sooner, however, had civilized man taken up his abode in Tasi- 

 mania, than the tiger wolf became an object of dread, as his poultry 

 and domestic animals were never safe from its attacks. The sheep, 

 especially, were the objects of the settler's anxious care; as the flocks, 

 wandering about over the face of the couatry, were open to the at- 

 tacks of the prowler ; and no sooner were they introduced than he 

 developed a most unmistakable appetite for mutton, preferring the 

 flesh of that more useful and easily mastered animal to that of any kan- 

 garoo, however venison-like, or bandicoot, however savory. By de- 

 grees the guns and poisoned traps of the settlers prevailed, and the 

 Thylacinus has been driven from the haunts where it once reigned su- 

 preme ; and though their ravages were formerly of frequent occur- 

 rence, they are now confined to the wildest and most inaccessable 

 portions of the island. Upon the summits of Humboldt Mountains, 

 and among the Hampshire Hills, these animals are still found in lim- 

 ited numbers. 



It is seldom that live specimens of this mai - supial are seen in zoolog- 

 ical collections or menageries, as they are very shy and wary, and 

 extremely difficult to capture ; and moreover, the antipathy of the 

 settler is such that when the Thylacinus is captured he rarely permits 

 it to live. The Royal Zoological Gardens of London alone have, I 

 believe, exhibited such specimens ; and these were only obtained by 



