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Letter From Sydney
Grim reminder of Australia's poor record of preserving species
Researchers are trying to revive the Tasmanian tiger, a wolf-like marsupial with stripes on its back, which was declared extinct in 1986
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In 1936, the last known Tasmanian tiger - known as Benjamin - died in a zoo in the Australian city of Hobart, marking the apparent end of a species that had roamed across the island state of Tasmania for thousands of years.
The event gained worldwide attention, especially as the animal was captured in haunting black-and-white footage filmed months earlier which showed it pacing - alone - in its cage.
