Tasmanian Tiger: The Tragic Tale of How the World Lost Its Most Mysterious Predator

Book Description

Once the world's largest marsupial predator, the doglike Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) ranged across Australia and as far north as New Guinea. After humans introduced dingoes to the area 4,000 years ago, the misnamed "tiger" was driven to extinction everywhere except the island of Tasmania. With the arrival of European settlers there in the 1800s, however, its days became numbered. Unsubstantiated tales of its blood-thirst and its unnaturally savage attacks on sheep led to the creation of "extermination societies" and ultimately to the introduction of a law in 1886 that mandated the destruction of the species. Hunted indiscriminately for fifty years, Tasmanian tigers were granted a reprieve in 1936, when the government was persuaded to protect the species. But it was too late: the last specimen died in a Hobart zoo two months later.

In Tasmanian Tiger, David Owen tells the tragic story of the thylacine, from its evolutionary origins and its physical and behavioral characteristics to its ill-fated encounter with European civilization and the ongoing fascination with the "Tassie Tiger" as a potent symbol of wildlife conservation. Elegantly written and full of interesting facts and first-hand stories from those who saw the animal in the wild, Tasmanian Tiger offers a compelling account of how fear and ignorance doomed an entire species over the course of a century. And in recounting numerous recent sightings of the thylacine in Tasmania, Owen explores the power that this once-despised creature continues to hold on the imagination today. Indeed, as described in this book, serious efforts are being undertaken to bring back the Tasmanian tiger through cloning, a controversial project that raises a number of ethical questions for scientists and conservationists everywhere. For both those familiar with the thylacine and those discovering this remarkable animal for the first time, Tasmanian Tiger is a poignant cautionary tale of human folly and the fragility of the natural world.

Customer Reviews:

Helpful and well done. A great resource on Thylacines........2007-08-02

Tasmanian Tiger: The Tragic Tale of How the World Lost Its Most Mysterious Predator
by David Owen is a very good book with lots of helpful information. Well written and engaging.

Everything I was looking for.......2005-03-26

If you are like me and have always wondered what happened to these fascinating mammals, then get this is a book for you. It covers everything, but in a readable approach. I particularly like the way it introduces you to the tasmanian residents, new and old. Losing the tassie tiger was a great blow to conservation, but I still hear howls in the background of history.

Dull book on an interesting creature.......2005-01-16

The last known living thylacine - the proper name for what is often popularly (and mistakenly) called the Tasmanian tiger - died in a Hobart city zoo in 1936. It was already an old beast, and the Great Depression had worsened its condition through neglectful care. Two months before it died, the Tasmanian parliament gave the species full protection - a delayed counter-response to earlier Tasmanian and Australian policies that for decades put a bounty on its head. But the change in policy came too late. In all the years since 1936, there has not been a single piece of solid evidence the species still exists.

Most experts guess that a few thylacines lived on in the wild for some years after the mid-30s before succumbing to the problems of low population numbers. But many Tasmanians, and a few experts, continue to believe the animal still survives in the wilds of Tasmania. There are a number of reasons for this. Thirty percent of the island is a wildlife preserve. There have been over a hundred reliable sightings of the animal in recent years. And the creatures were nocturnal and shy, even when populations were abundant.

If the thylacine does survive, it would be a remarkable story, for it was a remarkable beast. The largest marsupial predator in modern times, the thylacine took its popular name from the stripes that covered the back half of its elongated frame. Without those stripes, a thylacine would have had some resemblance to a long, skinny dog or wolf, except for two obvious features: its enormous jaw, which the thylacine was able to open to an angle of nearly ninety degrees, and its sloping back, which was somewhat similar to a hyena's (another dog-like creature that is not related to the canines). But whatever resemblance existed between thylacines and the family of canines was superficial -- a matter of convergent evolution, not relatedness. The thylacine was a marsupial, with its pups born and partially raised in a poach.

Most eyewitness accounts said thylacines were neither fast nor ambush predators. The creature's sloping gait, that so resembled a hyena's, was built for endurance not speed. A thylacine would give chase to its prey over long distances, tiring it out, before catching up with it and pinning it down with the enormous jaw and sharp teeth. The preferred prey seems to have been kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, and, a few years after the arrival of white settlers in 1803, sheep. The thylacine's taste for sheep, however, would end up spelling its doom as settlers - many of whom went to Tasmania to raise sheep - grew to hate the beast.

David Owen, a Tasmanian novelist, and the author of "Tasmanian Tiger", argues that the thylacine's reputation for eating sheep was probably undeserved or at least exaggerated. Feral dogs also inhabited Tasmania, and in some cases were known to attack and eat sheep. But whoever the culprit, the "tiger" - as the thylacine was known locally - was blamed by most Tasmanians and bounties were put on its head. As a result, by the early twentieth century, the writing was on the wall for the beast. From 1878 to 1896, more than 3,400 tiger skins were tanned and made into waistcoats. In 1902, 119 thylacines were presented for the bounty. In 1906, just 58. In 1909, the last year any tigers were presented for bounty, only two were given up. The population had been decimated. It was now only a matter of time.

Owen's book is fairly dry, considering the rich nature of the subject matter. David Quammen, in his "The Song of the Dodo", has a far more interesting section on the thylacine, filled with fascinating facts and a strong narrative, covering almost all the ground Owen does in much less space. Perhaps because he is a novelist, Owen has little new to add. He has read the necessary books and source material, but unlike Quammen, and many others who have studied thylacines, he has no scientific background or interest. Quammen put the extinction of the thylacine in perspective by showing its similarities to other extinctions elsewhere in the world; Owen simply portrays it as a sad story in the history of Tasmania.

Owen does add one interesting twist to the story by telling of the project to reconstruct a thylacine using the DNA from a dead fetus preserved in alcohol for several decades. Most scientists think it's an impossible scientific feat to pull off, but Owen interviews a couple of bright-eyed, true believers who think otherwise. The project has found sponsors and some small progress has been made. But with Australia still losing species, counter-arguments have been voiced that the money - which will run into the millions of dollars per thylacine, assuming they are ever successfully cloned - could be better spent saving creatures that still exist.

The same general argument can be made for the money spent on this book. "Tasmanian Tiger" is a dull study on an interesting subject. Owen is an experienced novelist, but you wouldn't know it from reading this book. The narrative never gets going. For a much better book, one with a superb section on thylacines, read David Quammen's "The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions."

Gone the way of the dodo.......2004-12-31

David Owen's "Tasmanian Tiger..." is a little gem that will delight the naturalist, the environmentalist, and just the intelligent reader. It is a poignant tale about an animal that became extinct in relatively recent times, gone the way of the dodo. The book is written unusually well by an impassioned nature-writer, and it is capable of evoking frustration and sadness by the insensitivity of man toward preserving the balance of nature. It is entertaining and richly illuminating about this strange animal, and also about a land as obscure and inaccessible as any spot on earth. I would recommend this book with unrestrained enthusiasm.

The Animal in its World (Explorations of an Ethologist, 1932-1972), Volume I: Field Studies

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The Animal in its World (Explorations of an Ethologist, 1932-1972), Volume I: Field Studies
Tinbergen
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Animal in its World (Explorations of an Ethologist, 1932-1972), Volume II: Laboratory Experiments and General Papers (Animal in Its World, Explorations of an Ethologist, 1932-197)

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The Animal in its World (Explorations of an Ethologist, 1932-1972), Volume II: Laboratory Experiments and General Papers (Animal in Its World, Explorations of an Ethologist, 1932-197)
Tinbergen
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Animal In Its World - Explorations Of An Ethologist 1932-1972 Volume One Field Studies

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The Animal In Its World - Explorations Of An Ethologist 1932-1972 Volume One Field Studies
Niko Tinbergen
Manufacturer: Harvard Univ Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RIQ8Z6

THE ANIMAL IN ITS WORLD. EXPLORATIONS OF AN ETHOLOGIST. 1932 - 1972. VOLUME ONE: FIELD STUDIES. VOLUME TWO: LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AND GENERAL PAPERS.

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THE ANIMAL IN ITS WORLD. EXPLORATIONS OF AN ETHOLOGIST. 1932 - 1972. VOLUME ONE: FIELD STUDIES. VOLUME TWO: LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AND GENERAL PAPERS.
N. Tinbergen
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WQ4C92

The animal kingdom: Its varieties and oddities, comprising graphic descriptions of nearly all known species of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, mollusca and animalculae the world over

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The animal kingdom: Its varieties and oddities, comprising graphic descriptions of nearly all known species of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, mollusca and animalculae the world over
W Bingley
Manufacturer: Hubbard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

The animal world, its romances and realities: A reading-book of zoölogy (Appletons' home reading books. [Division 1. Natural history])

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The animal world, its romances and realities: A reading-book of zooÌˆlogy (Appletons' home reading books. [Division 1. Natural history])
Frank Vincent
Manufacturer: D. Appleton and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

THE ARCTIC WORLD ILLUSTRATED: ITS PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND NATURAL PHENOMENA

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THE ARCTIC WORLD ILLUSTRATED: ITS PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND NATURAL PHENOMENA
Author Unknown
Manufacturer: T. Nelson and Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JTDT5U

The Arctic World: its Plants, Animals, and Natural Phenomena. With a Historical Sketch of Arctic Discovery

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The Arctic World: its Plants, Animals, and Natural Phenomena. With a Historical Sketch of Arctic Discovery
Nelson [pub]
Manufacturer: T Nelson and Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IYYHMA

The Balkan Lake Ohrid and its living world (Monographie biologicae)

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The Balkan Lake Ohrid and its living world (Monographie biologicae)
SinisÌŒa StankovicÌ
Manufacturer: W. Junk
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007IWCJC

Book Description

When Bill Weber and Amy Vedder arrived in Rwanda to study mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey, the gorilla population was teetering toward extinction. Poaching was rampant, but it was loss of habitat that most endangered the gorillas. Weber and Vedder realized that the gorillas were doomed unless something was done to save their forest home. Over Fossey's objections, they helped found the Mountain Gorilla Project, which would inform Rwandans about the gorillas and the importance of conservation, while at the same time establishing an ecotourism project -- one of the first anywhere in a rainforest -- to bring desperately needed revenue to Rwanda.

In the Kingdom of Gorillas introduces readers to entire families of gorillas, from powerful silverback patriarchs to helpless newborn infants. Weber and Vedder take us with them as they slog through the rain-soaked mountain forests, observing the gorillas at rest and at play. Today the population of mountain gorillas is the highest it has been since the 1960s, and there is new hope for the species' fragile future even as the people of Rwanda strive to overcome ethnic and political differences.

Customer Reviews:

Required Reading for anyone looking for conservation methods that work.......2007-08-17

This is a great book. Not only does it tell an incredible story. But it also illustrates one of the realities of saving wildlife and habitat. People don't kill wildlife or destroy forests out of spite. They are driven to it for economic reasons; namely, they have no other way to feed their familes. So, in order to change their behaviours, they have to be offered alternatives. The work of Bill Weber and Amy Vetter offered alternatives to Rwandans. Their living standards rose (excluding the effects of genocide and civil war, of course) and poaching and habitat destruction were reduced. A great case study.

But, much more than that, it is also an enjoyable, well written account of the lives and dreams of a great pair of people.

If You're Going To The Gorillas, Read This First.......2007-03-10

Let me start by saying that the only criticism I have of this book is that it doesn't talk about the gorillas themselves, their lives and behavior, all that much. If you want a natural history of gorillas, look elsewhere.

Having said that--this is an excellent book and I highly recommend it, especially if you're going to Rwanda. The book follows the development of the Mountain Gorilla Project from the last years of Dian Fossey's life through the Rwandan genocide and beyond. It is written by the couple who took over the Project after Fossey's murder, and tells their story in fascinating detail. It is a record of the ongoing struggle to maintain a national park in a poor country, of the commitment and hard work of a few people--Europeans, Americans, Rwandans--in difficult and even deadly circumstances, and, most importantly, of the interactions of poverty, politics, personality, corruption, ignorance, education, inspiration, fear, courage, joy and tragedy in the real world of conservation biology.

While this is about one country, one park (mostly) and one species, it will give the reader a much clearer understanding of the diffculties faced by field biologists, park rangers, conservationists and governments the world over who are trying to preserve wild places.

The book is written in a lively, conversational style and makes every effort to be even-handed with some difficult personalities (Fossey's not least of these). Even though the book devotes only a chapter to the horror of the genocide, it presents the events in both a larger context and very personal, affecting detail. In fact, one of the great strengths of the book is its graceful incorporation of the big picture and the snapshot to tell a whole story.

If you're going to Rwanda (or if you've been there)--BUY THIS BOOK!

An honest look at Gorilla history and research.......2007-01-09

Mountain Gorilla conservation and protection is a tenuous, difficult and sad story of the plight of these wonderful, intelligent beings. The truth of Dian Fossey's last years is also painful to digest. This book is forthright and eye-opening.

Great Read!.......2006-02-14

I enjoyed reading about the authors' work with the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, especially their emphasis on the human aspect of conservation. I think that most scientists are often unwilling to accept the importance of integrating conservation efforts with development goals, for their dedication to the science of it. I know that that was how I felt for the longest time. I no longer feel that way, and reading about the authors' perspective greatly enlarged mine. One critique that I do have with this book is the unnecessary recollection of all the things that were wrong with Dian Fossey following their discussion of her death. Not only was it superfluous, but it also detracted from their credibility as professionals--perhaps they felt that they needed to one-up Fossey for some of the admittedly horrible things that she did to them? I am interested in their opinions about the mountain gorillas, life in Rwanda, the Hutus and Tutsis, but no, not about their personal biases. Otherwise, this was an intriguing read.

Inspiring.......2005-11-23

I read this book while on a trip to Rwanda & Uganda to see the mountain gorilla's. It is a magnificent book not just because of the couples work with the Gorilla's in difficult terrain but also because of their initiative to start eco tourism (essential to saving the Gorillas) in the face of much opposition (including Dian Fossey). It is enchanting to read about the high quality of the relationship between the couple and their work with the local people (including the lead up to the chilling Genocide).

I am planning on rereading it.

This Fragile Land: A Natural History of the Nebraska Sandhills

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This Fragile Land: A Natural History of the Nebraska Sandhills
Paul A. Johnsgard
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

The Nebraska Sandhills is the largest area of sand dunes in the western hemisphere, covering an area about as large as Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island combined. Unlike most dunes, the Sandhills region supports an astonishing variety of wildlife.

Sixty million years ago the area lay submerged in a vast inland sea. As the land lifted and the waters receded, the sandhills were formed, built upon a sandy floor above a sandy basement. Paul A. Johnsgard’s appreciation for the region includes its evolution, a process that continues today making a very special place, patiently shaped by water, wind, and time.

Sometimes 450 feet higher than their sloping valleys, the hills themselves are almost entirely covered with plants that manage to survive on an unstable substrate and in a climate of merciless heat and cold. They provide homes and resting places for rare species and sustain the livelihoods of a remarkable variety of people.

Though firmly established in science, this book is an extended love letter to the Sandhills region and its people, plants, and animals. Johnsgard is now in his third decade of research in the Sandhills. This Fragile Land lets others see what he sees, a land with a fascinating range of geological, biological, and ecological vistas.

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Helping and accommodating Florida's wildlife

Florida's Fragile Wildlife
Don A. Wood
Manufacturer: University Press of Florida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Conservation and management of Florida's vulnerable wildlife and their habitat has been of great concern for decades, and Florida's Fragile Wildlife is a primer for natural resource managers on how to achieve it. Examining more than 20 threatened species from the perspective of land management, the book outlines the benefits of specific conservation initiatives on each species and discusses how those initiatives can be implemented.

Customer Reviews:

Helping and accommodating Florida's wildlife.......2002-06-20

This well written book, should be useful for both land manager and concerned citizen. For many of Florida's "fragile species", Don presents background natural history research, but most importantly highlights survey and land management methods. For proactive management, this may include the use of fire to manipulate habitat succession, for example to help the gopher tortoise. Wood also sees the opportunity of species coexisting with other land uses, for example caracara and agriculture, or set back distances from eagle nests. He offers some urban strategies such as not feeding sandhill crane, or accommodating burrowing owls. Wood recognized some common problems among the species, such as habitat fragmentation, the need for urban strategies, and the confusion of resident versus winter populations when doing population surveys.

Although the pictures are useful, their use is sometimes uneven. For example, there are three examples of a gopher tortoise burrow, but no picture of salt marsh sparrow habitat. The maps were not always included, e.g., there was no map of the Florida Grasshopper sparrow distribution. I would have also liked some discussion of coastal shorebird and tern species, which would also benefit from human awareness.

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A Beautiful Ride

Fragile Eden: A Ride Through New Zealand (Transaction Large Print Books)
Hanbury-Tenison
Manufacturer: ISIS Large Print Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1850892679

Customer Reviews:

A Beautiful Ride.......2003-11-22

This incredibl, informative and delightful ride on horseback through the country of New Zealand (a far away place many of us will never be able to visit in person) is one of my favorite books. Imagine leisurely exploring an entire country on horseback!

There are several pictures in brilliant color depicting the diverse people, the spectacular scenery including magnificent snow capped mountains and swift large rivers, and many black and white pictures as well, enabling us to join in the ride.

Robin and Louella Hanbury-Tenison explored this magical country on horseback together and vividly describe their adventures, sharing them with readers who love true and exciting accounts. Proceeds from their expedition raised money for charity entitled Riding for the Disabled. They are an English couple with environmental concerns as well. This journey is one of many as they explored other parts of the world in other books.

This book also provides insights into the economic and environmental problems in New Zealand. You will learn a great deal of the country's history.

Imagine riding horses up high mountain peaks covered with snow and then descending to the hot dry valley floors, seeing native animals up close, talking with shepherds and owners of the huge sheep farms, sleeping in various kinds of weather both outside and sometimes inside primitive huts, grazing horses, basking in lush natural surroundings in what they call "the most beautiful country in the world"! As you read this highly descriptive book, you can almost smell that sharp fresh air after a rain and see the colorful rainbows, all the while riding in a comfortable saddle on eager healthy horses. The entire country is well described in every way possible.

Book Description

Fragile Land describes the challenges facing Scotland's decision-makers -- and every individual. The book is a mini-encyclopedia of environmental facts and figures with case studies and back-up material from leading scientists and academics, describing the environment as it exists today, and offering solutions to pressing problems from air pollution to the loss of plants and animals.

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Fragile Land (Oberon Modern Plays)
Tanika Gupta
Manufacturer: Oberon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Tanika Gupta's critically acclaimed play, Fragile Land, is about what nationhood means for second-generation immigrants. The pressure to stick to their own kind proves a tough call for two teenage Asian schoolgirls in this fresh, engaging portrayal of a London very different from the one first encountered by their parents.

Fragile Lands of Latin America: Strategies for Sustainable Development (Westview Special Studies in Social, Political, and Economic Development)

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Fragile Lands of Latin America: Strategies for Sustainable Development (Westview Special Studies in Social, Political, and Economic Development)

Manufacturer: Westview Pr (Short Disc)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0813377056

The Fragile Tropics of Latin America: Sustainable Management of Changing Environments

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The Fragile Tropics of Latin America: Sustainable Management of Changing Environments

Manufacturer: United Nations University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 928080877X

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Geosphere (Our Fragile Planet)
Dana Desonie
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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In the Kingdom of Gorillas: Fragile Species in a Dangerous Land

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In the Kingdom of Gorillas: Fragile Species in a Dangerous Land
Bill; Vedder, Amy Weber
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Inc.,U.S.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VKLI14

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