Is the Tasmanian Tiger Really Extinct? Science Proves Hunting Couldn’t Have Driven the Thylacine to Extinction

The last known Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, died in captivity at Hobart Zoo on September 7th, 1936. That was the official end of the species. But ever since, people have reported sightings in the Tasmanian bush. Despite decades of searches, unconfirmed sightings, and investigations, no hard evidence has ever been found – no tracks, no clear photographs, no DNA.

Many people blame the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger on hunting; however, could hunting truly cause a whole species to go extinct?

Today, we will investigate whether hunting could have led the thylacine to extinction, or did other factors drive it to extinction, or could the thylacine still be roaming around? We will be attempting to answer this question by looking at the results from the scientific paper “Is the Tasmanian tiger extinct? A biological–economic re-evaluation.”