7 replies to this topic

[Still Waters]

University of Adelaide researchers have found the answer to one of natural history's most intriguing puzzles – the origins of the now extinct Falkland Islands wolf and how it came to be the only land-based mammal on the isolated islands – 460km from the nearest land, Argentina.

http://phys.org/news...ncient-dna.html

[wolfknight]

Wow good story thank for sharing

[Queen in the North]

That is pretty cool!

[DieChecker]

Still Waters, on 05 March 2013 - 07:53 PM, said:

University of Adelaide researchers have found the answer to one of natural history's most intriguing puzzles – the origins of the now extinct Falkland Islands wolf and how it came to be the only land-based mammal on the isolated islands – 460km from the nearest land, Argentina.

http://phys.org/news...ncient-dna.html

Interesting. Wonder when these guys finally died out?

[Abramelin]

DieChecker, on 05 March 2013 - 09:25 PM, said:

Interesting. Wonder when these guys finally died out?

When Charles Darwin first encountered the Falkland Island wolf in 1833, he noted that its population was already in decline, and predicted that, with the arrival of permanent settlers, its extinction would be assured. Sadly, his prediction proved to be accurate, as within the space of just 50 years this remarkable species had entirely disappeared.

http://www.arkive.or...cyon-australis/

So it was around 1883.

And why?

Darwin noted that as a result of the Falkland Island wolf’s tameness, it proved to be an easy target for hunters, and was often killed by offering meat with one hand, while stabbing the animal with a knife held in the other.  As increasing numbers of visits were made to the island during the 1800s, Falkland Island wolf numbers began to dwindle. In 1839, the arrival of fur traders from the United States led to huge population declines as a result of hunting. However, it was the arrival of Scottish settlers in the 1860s that sealed this species’ fate. In order to prevent the Falkland Island wolves from preying upon their livestock, the settlers began a poisoning campaign, systematically eradicating the entire population, until the death of the last individual in 1876.

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Edited by Abramelin, 06 March 2013 - 12:39 PM.

[DieChecker]

Ah, so it was the Scots what ate the poor wee wolfys....

[Queen in the North]

DieChecker, on 06 March 2013 - 08:11 PM, said:

Ah, so it was the Scots what ate the poor wee wolfys....

Bloody Scots.

[TheLastLazyGun]

I bet the Falklanders are glad it's extinct.

Queen in the North, on 07 March 2013 - 12:01 AM, said:

Bloody Scots.

I bet they deep-fried it, too.

Edited by TheLastLazyGun, 07 March 2013 - 11:19 AM.