The Last Tasmanian Tiger > Likes and Comments
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Hi, I'm familiar with the story about the real "last" Tasmanian Tiger; I saw a show about it on PBS/NatGeo (?) a few years ago. I put "last" because I'm not convinced it was the last one and still hold out hope they are not extinct.
Looking forward to reading your story!
Choyang wrote: "Hi, I'm familiar with the story about the real "last" Tasmanian Tiger; I saw a show about it on PBS/NatGeo (?) a few years ago. I put "last" because I'm not convinced it was the last one and stil..."
Choyang - A Google search reveals numerous sightings of animals believed to be Tasmanian Tigers in Australia. There are some very credible reports.
I for one believe they still exist - for several reasons:
-They are very timid animals despite their ferocious appearance so would avoid human contact.
-They could easily make themselves hard to find in the vastness of the Australian bush.
-The high number of reported sightings can't be ignored.
Hi everyone,Stories like this always remind me how fragile the line is between what we declare “gone” and what quietly continues to exist beyond our certainty. History often ends things neatly because it needs closure — nature rarely does.
Whether the Tasmanian tiger still walks somewhere unseen or not, the deeper truth may be about us: how quickly we accept absence as fact, and how uncomfortable we are with uncertainty. Sometimes hope isn’t denial — it’s simply humility in the face of how little we truly know.
Perhaps what matters most is not proving existence or extinction, but remembering that silence doesn’t always mean emptiness.
The footage was shot at Beaumaris Zoo, Hobart, Tasmania, in December 1933.
This last known Thylacine (or Tasmanian Tiger) was named Benjamin. He died in 1936.
Interestingly, most Aussies believe the ‘Tassie tiger’ is extinct. Most but not all. Sightings have been, and still are, frequently reported, but none have been definitively confirmed as genuine.
The inspiration for my short story was the true-life figure of Dingo Truganini, an Aboriginal tracker who helped capture Benjamin. In real life, the aforementioned Dingo was descended from a woman simply known as Truganini who is considered the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian and whose name he inherited. That’s where the history ends and the fiction begins.
In THE LAST TASMANIAN TIGER my protagonist is one Charlie Truganini, also (fictitiously) descended from his namesake and the great-grandson of Dingo. Charlie has devoted his life to searching for the Tassie tiger to determine one way or the other whether it still exists.
This short story is available now as an audiobook via Amazon’s Audible initiative. For those who prefer the printed word, it is one of five tales in my book ‘5 SHORT STORY GEMS’ which is available as a paperback via Harvard Book Store, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Amazon and via public libraries.