Taz Extinction Poo-Pooed
By Sarah Gillham
Have you ever considered studying poo for a living? Dissecting it, tearing it apart, examining it under a microscope? No? Nor me. But for some people it’s a full time job. One brave soul is studying poo in the name of conservation.Zoologist Jeremy Austin, hopes to prove that Tasmanian tigers went extinct later than we previously thought. In order to do this he has found himself, yes you guessed it, analysing the DNA of its ancient poo remains preserved in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
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The poo, or scats if you want to be slightly more scientific about it, were found by Eric Guiler, Australia's last real thylacine expert. He thought it more probable they came from the Tasmanian tiger rather than a dog, Tasmanian devil or quoll.
The Tasmanian tiger, otherwise known as a thylacine, was the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial, somewhat resembling a cross between a dog and a tiger i.e. naughty but nice.
The last known individual died in captivity in 1936, therefore if this poo were to reveal some long lost fragments of 1950's thylacine DNA, it could prove to be one of the most exciting poo's in history. “It’s a long shot that they were still around in the 1950s, but we can’t rule it out at this stage.”
Some people believe that Tasmanian tigers never went extinct at all. They claim that the tigers still hide out in remote areas of Tasmania, mainland Australia and even Papua New Guinea. As tempting a thought as that may be, chances are that these people are simply nutters.
You can see video footage of a thylacine here (thankfully no poo involved). If you've still got the stomach for more, here's some of our most popular articles:
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