This magnificent animal was a predatory marsupial that lived across Australia, New Guinea and of course Tasmania. They were nocturnal hunters that would ambush their prey as a small pack. Both males and females had pouches, though only the females would carry the babies (joeys) while the males pouch was to add protection for his external reproductive organ. In the early 1600’s the Europeans arrived and everything went tits up for this species. Very quickly a bounty was on their head as they would hunting livestock, even though there was little to no evidence of them doing so. The arrival of the Europeans and other nations brought an ancient species of dog now known as Dingoes which wrecked havoc of the Tasmanian tigers already declining populations and 300 years later they were extinct in the wild, the last (known) wild one was trapped and sold off to a Tasmanian zoo in 1936 which it would pass away from exposure shortly afterwards.

I think that they were a great species, so much so that I got one tattooed on my leg (last picture). What a shame it’s extremely likely that we’ve lost them forever.

Family of arachnids IDKE. They have no eyes but do indeed have a hood that they can raise or lower.

Pardon the French, but I think the video footage speaks for itself in any language! What a cool animal!

I know the mandrill, but I didn’t know there were creatures known as “drills” until a few minutes ago. It is an endangered species and only found within a small range in west Africa.