Damn I Also Think Of Thylacines And Laika A Bunch. That's Nuts.

Don't even get me started they have a Thylacine at the museum and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen

Illustrated Sketches of Natural History: Consisting of Descriptions and Engravings of Animals. Second Series. 1864.

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General Zoology. Written by Mary J. Guthrie and John M. Anderson. 1957.

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TASSIE TIME!!!

I had the chance to visit the Oslo thylacine! It's currently on display at the Museum of Natural History in Oslo, Norway.

It's just SUCH a good specimen, really well preserved for how old it is. It's been in Norway since 1888 but barely has any bad spots unless you look up really close. There was a furless spot on the leg and behind the ear, other than that it looks brand new and almost alive! I keep expecting it to turn its head to look at me, knowing it wouldn't :(

It's also a bit too short for accurate thylacine proportions, but I think that just has to do with how much they stretched the wires in the legs when mounting it. Very accurate otherwise, might be my favorite specimen!

Really happy they gave it a cute environment to be in, too. Before it was just a green stand, now it has a pretty painting and grass around it so it looks like it's still roaming the depths of Tasmania

They also have a skull on display (thylacine on top and grey wolf on bottom, to show examples of convergent evolution), tho I'm almost sure that was a replica. Pretty cool still! They're so small upclose, but the specimen itself is bigger than I thought it'd be

I was overtaken by a deep sense of longing when looking at it. It's strange to think this was a living creature once, but everyone who saw it alive is long gone. But this remains. This mounted animal survived both word wars, it has been on this Earth longer than any human alive today has. If taken care properly, it will be here long after everyone today is gone, remaining a grim reminder to future generations of humanity's greed.

Still, pretty cool. Just wish I could see a living one too. Rest in peace doggo thing.

Bonus: they also had a great auk, which is another animal recently extinct by men. I didn't know about this one at all, it was really cool to see it there!

This is a portrait of them done at the national zoo in Washington DC by Gleeson.

She is thought to be depicted as the Joey in the pouch as at the size and predicted age the mother would not allow the Joey into the pouch so it was suspected the mother allowed her because she was sick. Poor baby. She passed in September when the family arrived in July.

Juvenile female thylacine skin and skull from the Smithsonian NMNH (USNM 115365). [x]

This individual was one of three pouch young that arrived along with an adult female; sadly, she was the only one of the joeys that did not survive to adulthood. She died in 1902 shortly after her family’s arrival at the National Zoo.

Size comparison of this skin to a full-grown adult (actually her male littermate) below from @thebrainscoop​ [x]. So smol :’(

This is my favorite photo of them

three female thylacine one with a amputation forefoot

Here are some more thylacine recolors for y'all!!

Happy First Anniversary to @extinctionstories! When I set up this blog last May, I was mostly hoping for a way to organize my conservation-related work; if people happened to enjoy it, then that would just be a bonus. Instead, I've been blown away by the enthusiasm and interest that you guys have for my art and writing, and the love that we all share for these precious creatures. Thank you so much for listening to their stories; I have plenty more to come

As a birthday treat, here are a couple of quick thylacine studies that I haven't posted before. They are fountain pen and watercolor, on 18x24" paper.

via

Wait wait!!! The skin doesn't quite match up and we really need more photos of the specimen to match it with Benjamin!

The article is confusing I'll admit 😭

THEY FOUND BENJAMIN’S REMAINS!?!?!??!?!?