Tasmanian Wolf: Thylacinidae

Tasmanian wolves lived in a great variety of habitats, although most often they were found in open areas. These included grassy woodlands, open forests, and coastal regions. They avoided dense forests and wetlands and liked to live in areas that Tasmanian devils, another animal in this order, live in today. The Tasmanian wolves hid in rock outcroppings and dense vegetation during the day and probably built dens there, but they would hunt at night in open grasslands.

Most of what is known about Tasmanian wolves comes from what people wrote about them before they became extinct in the 1930s. Scientists can study related animals to try to figure out what they might have eaten and how they lived. (Illustration by Wendy Baker. Reproduced by permission.)