The remains of the last known thylacine, which died of exposure at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart in 1936, were rediscovered in 2022 by museum curator Kathryn Medlock inside the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery after being mistakenly assumed discarded for decades.
Extinction at Beaumaris Zoo
The thylacine was an Australian marsupial that earned the nickname Tasmanian tiger because of the dark stripes across its back. An encroaching human population and changing terrain devastated the species before authorities placed a bounty on its head.
The last known member of the species died in captivity at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart in 1936. The animal perished from exposure after staff left it outside overnight.
Discovery at the Museum
Following its death, the body traveled to the nearby Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Curators and researchers subsequently lost track of the specimen among the general collection and assumed staff had discarded the remains years prior.
That assumption held until 2022, when museum curator Kathryn Medlock discovered an archived, unpublished taxidermist report from 1936 that explicitly mentioned the specimen. Medlock reviewed all thylacine skins and skeletons in the collection and traced them to their related records.
One disarticulated skeleton and a flattened skin remained unaccounted for until she matched them to the missing records. Those exact remains belonged to the last thylacine.
Educational Exhibit History
Archival records revealed that the specimens had once formed part of an educational exhibit that toured various schools. Following their rediscovery and identification, the museum placed the disarticulated skeleton and skin back on public display.
