Some more Thoughts on Thylacines

 

19th or early 20th century engraving by wildlife enthusiast and artist Freidrich Specht, that incongruously depicts a thylacine curiously or hungerly observing some kiwi birds

Recentlly, and partly since my posts on thylacines went over well with fans, I wanted to seek out more rare and obscure pics or articles. Unfortunately most I am aware is is already likely known to other committed dino--er, thylophiles. Such the above depiction of a thylacine stalking kiwis in New Zealand or Tasmania, which was recently posted on his blog site and in a recent book, where he gave it extensive coverage. (Kiwis are a small surviving relative of moas, adapted for probing for worms and insects, in case you didn't know.) This is incongruous, as anyone familiar with either of these animals knows, for the obvious reasons. However, it may not be impossible as Shuker states. But kiwis and thylacines inhabit the Austral-Asian realm. It might be CONCEIVABLE that a thylacine or thylacines might have survived a large floating raft of vegetation on a trip to New Zealand, during Australia's thousands of years' natural history. More plausible, such as scenario might have come about in more recent times if humans were involved. Humans were constantly transporting animals, and there is actual photographic evidence (see my previous thylacine post) that thylacines were among the animals transported from the island to southern Australia during the first part of last century.  Something like that could have happened on New Zealand or Tasmania. Or perhaps a thylacine could have been an escapee from ship arriving from Van Dieman's Land. Perhaps even an elaborate zoo exhibit or animal collection could explain it; though the keeper, one would think, would be more careful of the kiwi's safety!

Then there's this gem of a photo that a woman found in her old family album, taken by her grandfather, for the few thylophiles yet to know about it:

A female thylacine and cubs from a traveling carnival. The enhanced enlargement on the right shows the two offspring more clearly

Her grandfather captured a female thylacine, the cubs still in her pouch, and made the animals an exhibit for his traveling carnival. She had no idea what a treasure she owned, until she found how valuable any photos of living thylacines were, and put it online. Here's the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3CpkK4ynik

Yesterday, I was looking for an article in an volume of an old encyclopedia regarding the thylacine, pre-1950s, when a slightly more folkloric perception of the creature was still prevelent.

What I found was this:

1950 article from New Standard Enclyclopedia

It's not quite what I was looking for. But note that it describes the animal "The animal is strong, fleet and cunning." I seemed to have read as child in my dad's old enclyclopedia set, which I thought was this one. I remember from it that it said "Cunning beyond that of a dog, allows it to capture even the wiley banded anteater." I remember that this was from a source that might have been written in the early past of last century, and seemed to include some folkloric elements. 

Now, I've read that thylacines could often whip dogs in a fight, and there being one account of a thylacine killing a bull terrier. But they were seldom described as cunning. The folklore regarding them might have been different when there still enough of them still roaming around. What was most remarkable, though, is the suggestion that numbats are or were native to Tasmania. It seems as though they would be; however the numbat is supposed to have a very sparse range in eastern Australia, and I've heard of them native to Tasmania. So we might have a similar scenario as the kiwi picture. 

Below is from another find from my dad's old encyclopedia (he had a huge NG collection where there was still more Natural History stuff including a bit more regarding thylacines, but more on that later) I wanted to share:

Animals of Australia 1956, by Robert Webber, National Geographic artist