Tasmanian Wolf: Thylacinidae - Tasmanian Wolves And People

People have had unfriendly relationships with Tasmanian wolves. Native peoples on the island of Tasmania and in Australia killed and ate Tasmanian wolves for food. It is thought that although many groups did use the Tasmanian wolves for food, some would build special shelters to worship the head and skin of the animal afterwards.

Once European settlers and farmers came to the region, hunting of the wolves increased dramatically. Sheep farmers were losing sheep and assumed that the Tasmanian wolves were responsible. It is likely that the wolves did kill some sheep, but wild dogs probably killed more sheep that the wolves. Even so, farmers and bounty hunters continued to hunt the Tasmanian wolves. By the early 1900s, most were gone, and by 1912 bounty hunting of Tasmanian wolves was halted. This was not early enough to save them from extinction. The last time a Tasmanian wolf was confirmed to exist in the wild was in 1930. Despite the official protection that began on July 14, 1936, the last Tasmanian wolf died that September.