From historical accounts, the thylacine was observed to be largely solitary but records exist of it hunting either in pairs or in a small family group consisting of a female with her nearly grown cubs.     The hunting method employed by the thylacine appears from all accounts to be that of a steady but relentless pursuit, gradually exhausting the prey animal and allowing for a sudden rush attack.  Among its typical prey are small kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, echidnas, other small mammals, and birds.  Vocalizations of the thylacine reportedly include a whine (possibly communicatory), a growl (to express irritation), and a cough-like bark during hunting.

. This image is from a short film taken of a thylacine at the Hobart Zoo (Domain site) in 1928.  Opened in 1895 by Mary G. Roberts, the zoo was originally known as the Beaumaris Zoo, and a number of thylacines were exhibited there during the early decades of the 20th century.  The facility was turned over to the Hobart City Council upon Mrs. Roberts's death in 1921, moved to a new location, and renamed the Hobart Zoo.

    Through his examination of the bounty records, Guiler (1961) found that births historically occurred throughout the year, but that there was a definite peak in breeding activity during the summer season (December-March in Tasmania). 

    It is believed that the litter of up to four young vacated the pouch by the age of about three months and then continued to be partially dependent upon their mother until at least 9 months old.
 

. A thylacine photographed at the London Zoo.

A number of thylacines were maintained in zoos, but reproduction is apparently known to have occurred only once - at the Melbourne Zoo in 1899 (Paddle 2000).  The longest verified life span for a thylacine is 8 years and 131 days for a specimen purchased by the London Zoo in 1884 (Collins 1973).  This animal was probably at least one year old at the time of purchase from a wildlife dealer, so a total life span of some 9½ years can be suggested for this individual.

Tasmania has been a producer of sheep since the early 1800s.  Because the thylacine was unfairly blamed for a high number of livestock losses, Tasmanians waged a war of extermination on the species.  Although claims of losses due to thylacines were undoubtedly greatly exaggerated, by around 1840, intensive private bounty hunting began.  By the early 1860s, the thylacine had become almost entirely restricted to the mountainous and more remote, undisturbed areas of the island.  Between the years of 1888-1909, at least 2,184 thylacines were killed for the payment of a government bounty, and many more were killed for private bounties.  By 1905, there was a rapid decline in thylacine populations.  Within another ten years, the species had become quite rare.  In addition to the direct assaults of hunting, poisoning and trapping, other factors such as habitat loss and introduced disease likely contributed to the thylacine's decline.  The last confirmed killing of a thylacine was an individual that was shot on 30 May 1930 at Mawbanna by Wilfred Batty (Ride 1970).  The very last known captive animal died at the Hobart Zoo on 7 September 1936.  There were a number of organized searches undertaken over the next 40 years, but all apparently failed to find conclusive evidence of the thylacine's continued existence.  A 647,000 hectare sanctuary was created in southwestern Tasmania in 1966, partly in the hope of protecting any thylacines that may still exist there.  Unfortunately, by the time that legal protection was finally granted to the thylacine in 1936, its population had reached critically low numbers.

. Thomas Bather Moore, a well known prospector, amateur botanist and geologist who explored many areas of Tasmania, especially the west.  He also collected plant specimens for Ferdinand Jakob H. von Mueller, the first Government Botanist of Victoria.  This photograph is of interest because Moore is shown wearing a cap made from the pelt of a thylacine that was killed by his dogs.  The image was taken circa 1885 when he was in his early 30s.

    The species is now officially classified as extinct by both the IUCN and WWF.  It also appears on appendix 1 of the CITES, which lists it as possibly extinct.

    The geological range of the family Thylacinidae is Late Oligocene to Holocene in Australasia.