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| Criticality:
Both sides of the extinction / survival debate are in general accord that
the thylacine would have been classified as "critically endangered" from
1920 onwards, with some contending that criticality was reached far earlier,
around 1900.
In an effort to establish the status of the thylacine population, Sleightholme
& Campbell (2015) conducted the first comprehensive study to delineate
the extent of the thylacine's post-1900 range. Their conclusions
were published in the Australian Zoologist, and are based on the
retrospective analysis of 1,167 capture, kill, and confirmed sighting reports
from 1900 to 1940. The study revealed a progressive east / west extinction
of the species commencing in the far northeast of the state. |
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| Thylacine
population decline - 1900 to 1940 |
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| The
following series of five maps chart the east-to-west decline in thylacine
populations from 1900 to 1940, based on capture, kill and sighting (CKS)
reports compiled by Sleightholme and Campbell (2015). Place your
pointer over the maps to see the place names of the location markers (yellow
dots). In many cases, a marker may represent multiple CKS
reports. The cities of Launceston and Hobart (large red dots) have
been included as geographical reference points. The nine geographical
regions into which Tasmania has been divided are: (TNW) North West, (TML)
Midlands, (TNE) North East, (TBL) Ben Lomond, (TWC) West Coast, (TCH) Central
Highlands, (TSW) South West, (TFV) Florentine Valley, and (TEC) East Coast.
For full source data used in creating these maps, please refer to: Sleightholme,
S. R. & Campbell, C. R., 2015. A retrospective assessment of 20th century
thylacine populations. Aust. Zool. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2015.023 |
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