It seems that every day there is a new species in danger of extinction due to the ecological emergency in the world, and, to be honest, humans are mostly to blame. Unfortunately, this is the case of the Tasmanian tiger, a marsupial that has been extinct on the planet since 1936.
However, this week we were able to remember a little of the glory of this specimen thanks to the National Archives of Australia, who published never-before-seen, full-color images of Benjamin, the last specimen of this type of this species.
The Tasmanian tiger, a peculiar marsupial
Although there have been alleged sightings of Tasmanian tigers in recent years, officially, the species has been extinct since 1936, with the death of Benjamin.
Don’t let the name fool you, Tasmanian tigers had nothing to do with tigers. Despite their appearance and their pointed teeth, they are not related to wolves or foxes either. They were, in fact, marsupials like kangaroos, koalas, or possums.
Perhaps the closest living animal to them is the Tasmanian devil, which, like Benjamin and his species, are carnivorous marsupials. Sadly, the Tasmanian devil is very likely to face the same fate as its distant cousin.
Why did the Tasmanian tiger go extinct?
There are, indeed, many reasons why an animal species disappear from the earth. Think of most of the dinosaurs with the meteorite that hit the Earth millions of years ago. However, humans have become the main reason for the extinction of animals, and the Tasmanian tiger is no exception.
This species once inhabited Australia and New Guinea, but due to hunting and human occupation of the territory, climate change, and a genetic decline, the species became extinct.
This is neither the first nor the last time that humans have caused the extinction of species. Remember the hunting of the dodo bird in the past or the more recent poaching of the black rhinoceros that caused its disappearance in 2011.
A new historical record
Although the colorized videos of Benjamin are short on the whole, the existence of an archive like this one is of utmost importance to raise awareness and preserve memory.
The video was recorded in December 1933, and in it, we can see Benjamin walking, showing his striped fur, and yawning, which exposes the pointed teeth that the species had. A true carnivore that is no longer around us.
You can find the footage on the official Youtube channel of the NFSA (National Film and Sound Archive of Australia) and remember a bit of the specimen we will never be able to see again.
As mentioned by Samuel François-Steininger, in charge of restoring the video, he hopes that the piece, besides being a tribute to Benjamin and its species, will serve as an awareness to preserve all species of plants and animals that are endangered today.
Photos from: Europa Press, El Universal, National Geographic
Translated by María Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards
