The Thylacine — IELTS Reading Answers

“In terms of feeding, it was exclusively carnivorous, and its stomach was muscular with an ability to distend so that it could eat large amounts of food at one time”

The gap needs the thylacine's diet type; 'it was exclusively carnivorous' supplies 'carnivorous'.

“During long-distance chases, thylacines were likely to have relied more on scent than any other sense”

The gap needs the sense relied on in long chases; 'relied more on scent than any other sense' gives 'scent'.

“Newborns crawled into the pouch on the belly of their mother, and attached themselves to one of the four teats, remaining there for up to three months”

The gap needs where newborns went; 'crawled into the pouch on the belly of their mother' supplies 'pouch'.

“The most recent, well-dated occurrence of a thylacine on the mainland is a carbon-dated fossil from Murray Cave in Western Australia, which is around 3,100 years old”

The gap needs the evidence from Murray Cave; 'a carbon-dated fossil from Murray Cave' gives 'fossil'.

“These include competition with wild dogs introduced by European settlers, loss of habitat along with the disappearance of prey species, and a distemper-like disease which may also have affected the thylacine”

The gap needs what was lost besides prey species; 'loss of habitat along with the disappearance of prey species' gives 'habitat'.

Significant numbers of thylacines were killed by humans from the 1830s onwards.

“The dramatic decline of the thylacine in Tasmania, which began in the 1830s and continued for a century, is generally attributed to the relentless efforts of sheep farmers and bounty hunters”

The decline 'began in the 1830s' and is 'generally attributed to the relentless efforts of sheep farmers and bounty hunters', so humans killed many, TRUE.

Several thylacines were born in zoos during the late 1800s.

“There was only one successful attempt to breed a thylacine in captivity, at Melbourne Zoo in 1899”

'There was only one successful attempt to breed a thylacine in captivity, at Melbourne Zoo in 1899' contradicts the claim that several were born in zoos.

John Gould’s prediction about the thylacine surprised some biologists.

“The famous naturalist John Gould foresaw the thylacine’s demise when he published his Mammals of Australia between 1848 and 1863, writing, ‘The numbers of this singular animal will speedily diminish, extermination will have its full sway, and it will then, like the wolf of England and Scotland,”

Gould predicted the thylacine's demise in print, but the passage never says whether biologists were surprised by his forecast, so NOT GIVEN.

In the early 1900s, many scientists became worried about the possible extinction of the thylacine.

“there seems to have been little public pressure to preserve the thylacine, nor was much concern expressed by scientists at the decline of this species in the decades that followed”

'nor was much concern expressed by scientists at the decline of this species' contradicts the claim that many scientists became worried, so FALSE.

T.T. Flynn’s proposal to rehome captive thylacines on an island proved to be impractical.

“In 1914, he was sufficiently concerned about the scarcity of the thylacine to suggest that some should be captured and placed on a small island”

Flynn suggested capturing thylacines and placing them on a small island, but the outcome of that proposal is never reported, so NOT GIVEN.

There were still reasonable numbers of thylacines in existence when a piece of legislation protecting the species during their breeding season was passed.

“But it was not until 1929, with the species on the very edge of extinction, that Tasmania’s Animals and Birds Protection Board passed a motion protecting thylacines only for the month of December, which was thought to be their prime breeding season”

The protection came in 1929 'with the species on the very edge of extinction', so reasonable numbers did not remain, FALSE.

From 1930 to 1936, the only known living thylacines were all in captivity.

“The last known wild thylacine to be killed was shot by a farmer in the north-east of Tasmania in 1930, leaving just captive specimens. Official protection of the species by the Tasmanian government was introduced in July 1936, 59 days before the last known individual died in Hobart Zoo on 7th September, 1936.”

The last known wild thylacine was shot in 1930, 'leaving just captive specimens', and the final individual died in Hobart Zoo in 1936, so TRUE.

Attempts to find living thylacines are now rarely made.

“There have been numerous expeditions and searches for the thylacine over the years, none of which has produced definitive evidence that thylacines still exist. The species was declared extinct by the Tasmanian government in 1986.”

The text records 'numerous expeditions and searches ... over the years' but never says such attempts are now rarely made, so NOT GIVEN.