The document describes the physical characteristics and behaviors of the Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine. It had features of other animals such as a wolf-like head, snake-like jaws, tiger-like stripes, a wombat-like pouch, and could balance on its hind legs like a kangaroo. It was nocturnal and spent days sleeping in caves or hollow trees. Tasmanian tigers were hunted to extinction by 1936, though some claim sightings as recently as 1990.

1. Who am I?
I had a head like a wolf,
my jaws opened wide like a snake,
stripes like a tiger,
a pouch like a wombat.
I could balance on my hind legs like a kangaroo.
Like a possum I slept all day.
Like the wind I disappeared…

2. 1. The purpose of this text is to...
(a) tell the reader how to catch a
Tasmanian tiger.
(b) tell a story about a Tasmanian
tiger.
(c) provide information about
Tasmanian tigers.
(d) persuade the reader to look for
Tasmanian tigers.
Tasmanian Tiger
The Tasmanian tiger or thylacine [thahy-luh-sin]
looked very like a large, short haired dog with a stiff straight
tail. It was a marsupial and carried it’s young in a pouch (the
same way wombats do). It had a yellow-brown coat with 13 to
21 dark stripes across its back, rump and tail.
Habitat
Thousands of years ago Tasmanian tigers lived in most parts of
Australia. By the time the first European settlers arrived they
were only found in the forests and grasslands of Tasmania.
Behaviour
The Tasmanian tiger was a nocturnal animal. It spent its days
in small caves or hollow tree trunks in a nest of twigs, bark or
fern fronds and came out at night to hunt. It was carnivorous
and lived on a diet of bandicoots, possums and other small
animals. Farmers also blamed Tasmanian tigers for killing their
sheep and lambs.
Extinction
On 7 September 1936, the last known Tasmanian tiger died at
the Hobart Zoo. This was the first species of animal to become
extinct in Tasmania. Hunting by farmers was the main cause of
its extinction, but disease and loss of habitat also contributed.
Although most scientists believe it is extinct, there are people
who claim to have seen the Tasmanian tiger as recently as
1990!
Be the Expert
Defuse
the
distractor
Bull’s
eye is
best
‘Nearly’
is not the
one
Rule out
the
ridiculous
Practise together…

3. Try Again

4. Correct!

5. 2. [thahy-luh-sin]
This word is written like this to
show…
(a) the plural of the word thylacine.
(b) the correct way to say thylacine.
(c) a different way to spell thylacine.
(d) how many letters there are in
thylacine.
Tasmanian Tiger
The Tasmanian tiger or thylacine [thahy-luh-sin]
looked very like a large, short haired dog with a stiff straight
tail. It was a marsupial and carried it’s young in a pouch (the
same way wombats do). It had a yellow-brown coat with 13 to
21 dark stripes across its back, rump and tail.
Habitat
Thousands of years ago Tasmanian tigers lived in most parts of
Australia. By the time the first European settlers arrived they
were only found in the forests and grasslands of Tasmania.
Behaviour
The Tasmanian tiger was a nocturnal animal. It spent its days
in small caves or hollow tree trunks in a nest of twigs, bark or
fern fronds and came out at night to hunt. It was carnivorous
and lived on a diet of bandicoots, possums and other small
animals. Farmers also blamed Tasmanian tigers for killing their
sheep and lambs.
Extinction
On 7 September 1936, the last known Tasmanian tiger died at
the Hobart Zoo. This was the first species of animal to become
extinct in Tasmania. Hunting by farmers was the main cause of
its extinction, but disease and loss of habitat also contributed.
Although most scientists believe it is extinct, there are people
who claim to have seen the Tasmanian tiger as recently as
1990!
Defuse
the
distractor
Bull’s
eye is
best
‘Nearly’
is not the
one
Rule out
the
ridiculous
1

6. Try Again

7. Correct!

8. Tasmanian Tiger
The Tasmanian tiger or thylacine [thahy-luh-sin]
looked very like a large, short haired dog with a stiff straight
tail. It was a marsupial and carried it’s young in a pouch (the
same way wombats do). It had a yellow-brown coat with 13 to
21 dark stripes across its back, rump and tail.
Habitat
Thousands of years ago Tasmanian tigers lived in most parts of
Australia. By the time the first European settlers arrived they
were only found in the forests and grasslands of Tasmania.
Behaviour
The Tasmanian tiger was a nocturnal animal. It spent its days
in small caves or hollow tree trunks in a nest of twigs, bark or
fern fronds and came out at night to hunt. It was carnivorous
and lived on a diet of bandicoots, possums and other small
animals. Farmers also blamed Tasmanian tigers for killing their
sheep and lambs.
Extinction
On 7 September 1936, the last known Tasmanian tiger died at
the Hobart Zoo. This was the first species of animal to become
extinct in Tasmania. Hunting by farmers was the main cause of
its extinction, but disease and loss of habitat also contributed.
Although most scientists believe it is extinct, there are people
who claim to have seen the Tasmanian tiger as recently as
1990!
Defuse
the
distractor
Bull’s
eye is
best
‘Nearly’
is not the
one
Rule out
the
ridiculous
3. “there are people who claim to
have seen the Tasmanian tiger”
The author uses the word claim
because…
(a) the people told the author they
had seen a Tasmanian tiger.
(b) the people owned the Tasmanian
tiger.
(c) the people can’t prove that they
saw a Tasmanian tiger.
(d) the people were bragging about
what they saw.
1

9. Try Again

10. Correct!