THE
THYLACINE IN CAPTIVITY: -
THE HISTORICAL THYLACINE FILMS -
(film 4)
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Films
3 and 4 were both taken, probably on the same day, at the Beaumaris Zoo
(Queen's Domain site). They show a young adult thylacine interacting
with the keeper (Arthur Reid) and a small terrier dog on the other side
of the enclosure fence. At one point in film 4, the thylacine rears
up on its hind legs exhibiting a kangaroo-like stance. Throughout
the film, the thylacine appears to move swiftly and to be extremely responsive
to the hand movements of Mr. Reid and his dog. Historically, the
films were believed to have been taken around 1928. Recently, in
the Australian Zoologist, Sleightholme & Campbell (2014) published
a paper entitled "The earliest motion picture footage of the last captive
thylacine?", in which they proved the 1928 date to be incorrect.
They argued that the assumed date originated from an erroneous comment
made by Gilbert Whitley in an article in the journal Koolewong in
1973. They demonstrated, via a detailed comparison of the stripe
pattern, that the thylacine shown in films 3 and 4 was in fact the same
thylacine as filmed by David Fleay in December 1933. This was "Benjamin",
the last known captive thylacine, and dates films 3 and 4 to mid-1933.
