Copyright of and by Owen Quinn
The Last Tiger is part of the collection of stories in The Time Warriors: The Wolves sof Chernobyl & Other Stories. It features a subject close to my heart, what we did to the Tasmanian Tiger but unlike the majority, I don’t believe it is extinct. Get your copy today on Amazon.
They walked along a curving path lined with big stones and again laced with plants that were indigenous to this area. Tara was telling him her life story when Varran suddenly stopped.
“What is that?” he asked mesmerised by the animal he was looking at.
Tara led him over to the cage. He could sense a sudden melancholy take Tara.
“This is Ben. One of a kind.”
Varran knelt down his fingers hooking into the ire mesh and spoke softly to the animal within.
It was dog like, brown in colour almost like a dingo. Its back was striped like a tiger that ran to its tail. It had a large head like a dog or a wolf with short fore legs and larger back legs like a kangaroo. Its tail did not wag due to it being totally stiff. It regarded him warily but recognised Tara.
“He’s a Tasmanian Tiger or thylacine if you want and only found in this part of the world. There is nothing like him anywhere else in the world. They are a marsupial, they carry their young in pouches and those jaws can open like an anaconda.”
“He’s beautiful. Is he isolated from the other tigers for a specific reason? Sickness perhaps?”
Tara’s next sentence shocked Varran.
“We have no other tigers. Ben is the last of his kind. When he dies, there will never again be a tiger walk these lands. The Tasmanian Tigers are this country’s greatest shame. It breaks my heart and always will.”
Ben suddenly licked Varran’s fingers through the wire fence.
Tara told him of the tiger’s history. They were abundant in mainland Australia and then settlers came. Those settlers brought with them all sorts of non indigenous creatures including dogs and dingoes.
Speechless Varran just stared at Ben who stood up against the fence whining at Varran. The Xereban looked into those brown eyes and felt a wave of sorrow. The Xereban mantra everything happens for a reason fell apart the second Varran looked into the tiger’s eyes. How could humanity allow the near genocide of such a beautiful beast? It was so unique almost like a hybrid of several native animals. What must it feel like to never see another like you? Not understanding why it could not leave this cage or run free with others of its kind. Luckily, it did not know or understand that once its heart stopped then the world will have lost a unique lifeform. While Varran did not see the human race through rose tinted glasses, he felt ashamed by what they had done. Ben was a stark reminder of how destructive and short-sighted humans could be. Those who did not belong on this land had invaded and destroyed that which they had no business interfering with. Was he wrong allowing his fellow Xereban survivors to integrate with human societies? Were they dingoes to humanity?
On some level Varran could fee; Ben’s spirit. He turned and saw Bert staring at him.
Standing up, Varran smiled at Ben and turned to Tara and Bert. A chill ran down Tara’s spine as she saw this stranger’s face change from genuine empathy to quiet furious determination.
“Bert, phone whomever you need to but start arranging the animals to go sooner than you planned. In the meantime get Colm and Willy to gather the remaining animals into one spot so they are not isolated. We are going to stop whatever monster that killed Betsy and the others. We are also going to save Ben. Over my dead body will I allow Ben to die alone and afraid.”
The Time Warriors and Beyond 