Tigers died in drought

Drought was to blame for the extinction of Tasmanian tigers from the Australian mainland, a new study by the University of Adelaide has found.

A University of Adelaide study has attributed
extinction of the Tasmania tiger to drought.

Using DNA from fossil bones and museum specimens, the report says drought caused by the onset of El Nino weather patterns was the likely cause of the tigers’ demise.

‘‘The ancient DNA tells us that the mainland extinction was rapid, and not the result of intrinsic factors such as inbreeding or loss of genetic diversity,’’ researcher Lauren White said.

Read the Country News story - “Tigers died in drought.”

Tigers’ loss 'due to climate change', say scientists

This story is about tigers and a mysterious loss. Did that get your attention? 

Tragic tale: The last known Tasmanian tiger,
seen in 1936, the year it died in a Hobart zoo.

Unfortunately, this story is not about the Richmond Football Club, or even the football.

It's related to Tasmanian Tigers, or thylacines, those stripe-backed, meat-eating marsupials that died out in the island state in the 1930s due to human hunting.

It is not as well known that thylacines also used to roam mainland Australia and died out a few thousand years ago.

Read Carolyn Webb’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Tigers’ loss 'due to climate change', say scientists.”