This insightful examination of the history and extinction of one of Australia's most enduring folkloric beasts--the thylacine, (or Tasmanian tiger)-- challenges conventional theories. It argues that rural politicians, ineffective political action by scientists, and a deeper intellectual prejudice about the inferiority of marsupials actually resulted in the extinction of this once proud species. Hb ISBN (2000):0-521-78219-8

This arresting and beautiful picture book from Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks is a shimmering encounter with the Tasmanian tiger, a lament for a lost species, and a compelling evocation of the place of animals in Nature.

This book details how, in November 1993, during a holiday in northern Queensland, the author was first told by a witness to a Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger), on Cape York Peninsula. It also details some of the many other Thylacine sightings on mainland Australia and in Tasmania that he has been told about up until 2014. The author wrote this book at the suggestion of an academic working at a Queensland university, after the author told the academic about some of the Thylacine sightings that he had been told about in Queensland.

Until the mid-20th century, the thylacine was the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial, and its disappearance has left many questions and contradictions. Alternately portrayed as a scourge and as a high value commodity, the thylacine’s ecology and behaviour were known only anecdotally. In recent years, its taxonomic position, ecology, behaviour and body size have all been re-examined scientifically, while advances in genetics have presented the potential for de-extinction. With 78 contributors, Thylacine: The History, Ecology and Loss of the Tasmanian Tiger presents an evidence-based profile of the thylacine, examining its ecology, evolution, encounters with humans, persecution, assumed extinction and its appearance in fiction. The final chapters explore the future for this iconic species – a symbol of extinction but also hope.

The Dutchman turned his mind to his mission--find a rare tiger in the wilds of Thailand. He did not underestimate the difficulties facing him. Here, on this island, there had been many previous searches. SUs big advantage was that he knew the tiger was alive; his predecessors were sustained only by a belief that it might be.

Once reviled, feared and slaughtered by government decree, the myth of the Tasmanian Tiger continues to grow. This book explores the tale of the animal which has become the centrepiece in an ecological tragedy.

Images of animals generate perceptions that have a profound effect on attitudes toward species. Can representations contribute to their extinction? Paper Tiger considers the role of illustrations in the demise of the thylacine or Tasmanian ‘tiger’. It critiques 80 engravings, lithographs, drawings and photographs published between 1808 and 1936, paying attention to the messages they convey, the politics of representation, and the impact on the lives of animals. This approach challenges conventional histories, offers new understandings of human-animal interactions, and presents a chilling story of just how misleading and powerful visual representation can be. It demonstrates how pictures, together with words, can have a vital influence on species’ survival. " ... this book is a remarkable achievement. Freeman writes thoughtfully, carefully and with force, and the book is a very good read."’ (Nigel Rothfels, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)

Paper Tiger: How Pictures Shaped the Thylacine is an exciting new history of the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, that draws us closer to the animals who served as models for illustrations. It takes the reader on a journey behind artists' brushstrokes and photographers' lenses into the world of science, printing processes, publishing entrepreneurs, circulating libraries and bounties and reveals how inaccurate published images were ... and how profoundly they affected attitudes toward living thylacines. Written with sensitivity and an eye for detail, Paper Tiger uncovers forgotten drawings and lost photographs from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, telling a story full of mystery and revelations. It demonstrates how pictures and words have a vital influence on a species' survival. As the rate of extinctions escalates, we are also reminded that sympathetic pictures have the power to provide hope for endangered animals. "This book is a remarkable achievement. Freeman tells the story of the thylacine in an original and deeply affecting way. We learn about the animals ... and the ravaging impact that human ideas had upon them. Freeman writes thoughtfully, carefully, and with force, and the book is a very good read" Nigel Rothfels, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee "This book provides a scholarly yet very readable account of a very great loss, the extinction of the Thylacine ... and has what it takes to become a classic text. Freeman's study makes a valuable and timely contribution to the question of how we are going to come to terms with our role in the burgeoning global problem of mass species extinctions" Linda Williams, Associate Professor in Art, Environment and Cultural Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne This book is a compelling story for anyone interested in history and images or concerned about the natural environment, animal extinctions or conservation issues. It also provides a visual resource for art gallery and museum curators, print collectors and zoologists.

The thylacine is the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It's commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger because of its striped back and is believed by most experts to have become extinct in the 20th century. Yet in 1967, Col Bailey sighted a Tasmanian tiger along the shores of the Coorong, in South Australia. Then in 1993, a chance encounter with an elderly bushman unlocked a wealth of previously untold information that led Col into the vast and untrodden wilderness of Tasmania's Weld Valley. In Shadow Of The Thylacine, Col tells of his search for the Tasmanian tiger, revealing why he believes that this shy animal still exists in remote areas of Australia.