What it is
The thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, was a dog-sized marsupial carnivore with a stiff tail and dark stripes on the back. IUCN lists it as Extinct. It is not a big cat.
Range
Tasmania at the end. Earlier in the Holocene it also lived on mainland Australia and in New Guinea; those populations were already gone before the colonial hunt in Tasmania.
What happened
After British settlement, Tasmania ran a government bounty on thylacines, blaming them for sheep losses. Habitat clearing, introduced dogs, and possibly disease added pressure. The last captive animal died on 7 September 1936 at Hobart’s Beaumaris Zoo. Later sighting claims have not produced a verified wild animal.
When / status
Extinct. Last captive death: 7 September 1936.
Human role
A state bounty and persecution as a supposed sheep killer, on an island already altered by settlement.
Sources
IUCN Red List (Thylacinus cynocephalus, EX); Beaumaris Zoo record, 1936.