Yo,
The tiger would be kept at Mount Olympus forever, and the gods would make sure that it doesn’t breed, but Tasmanian tigers wouldn’t be extinct. And, as an afterthought, Artemis made her family agree that the tiger would be part of her realm.
So that is why there are no more Tasmanian tigers. At least, not on Earth.
I guess next time is now. I wrote this story—it's actually a Greek myth—because I absolutely adore Greek myths!! It explains why Tasmanian tigers are extinct. Well, not really....
Artemis and her followers—a mix of nymphs, naiads and dogs—were walking in a wetland in Tasmania when an animal walked up. It was obviously very shy and afraid of the group. Artemis slowed down, wondering what this strange creature was. The animal looked like a tiger, with the stripes and everything, but it was built like a dog. Because of this, and because this animal was first seen in Tasmania, Artemis decided to name it the Tasmanian tiger. She decided that she would tell her relatives, the Olympians, about the tiger and then hunt one or two to add to her collection of animal furs.
Artemis started to run towards Mount Olympus, and then she noticed that the tiger was following her! She stopped, told the rest of her group to go on, and then turned to face the tiger. She pulled out one of her unlimited arrows, fit it to her bow, took aim, and shot. The tiger stood still the entire time, staring at the silver bow curiously. Artemis sighed as she turned around again, now holding a dead Tasmanian tiger in her hand, the bow strapped once more onto her back.
When she finally reached Mount Olympus, and the rest of her family, Artemis went straight to where Zeus and Poseidon were having an argument (probably about the weather).
“Father, uncle,” she said to them. Zeus glanced at her, and then, reluctantly and with a “We will continue this!” to his brother, turned to face one of his favorite children.
“Yes?” he asked, a bit annoyed. Poseidon turned to face his niece as well.
“I found a new species.”
Athena joined them immediately. “A new species? May I see the skin?”
Artemis sighed, as usual annoyed at how Athena could figure out everything, and then passed over the, yes, now removed skin that she had put into her quiver. Athena took it with a look of great happiness, then frowned. Artemis wondered at the look on her face.
“What is it?” Poseidon asked impatiently.
“The skin is of a tiger, but it is shaped like a dog, right cousin?”
Artemis nodded.
Athena smiled. “May I study this?”
Artemis nodded again, and Athena walked off to her room/study.
“Why did you shoot it?” Zeus asked. “Why didn’t you show it to us first?”
“Because it was following me. I didn’t want an animal to dirty the floors of your great hall,” said Artemis with more than a hint of sarcasm. Zeus never understood sarcasm, so his children enjoyed abusing it.
Zeus nodded, pacified.
“Where did you find the animal?” Poseidon asked.
“In Tasmania, in the wetlands. I named it the Tasmanian tiger.”
Poseidon seemed to think. “If you found it in the wetlands...” he said slowly.
Artemis winced, for she knew an argument was going to start over whose animal this was. There was always an argument over new species, but this one would be worse than usual. Because the tiger lives in the wetlands, it could be part of Poseidon’s realm, but as it was on the land, it wasn’t technically a sea animal.
Artemis slipped away, meaning to hunt some more. Unfortunately, the fight between Poseidon and Zeus got so serious that Artemis was almost fried by a lightning bolt! She turned around, furious, and then she saw that the fight had gone on to include some other gods and goddesses; Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, and Dionysus were but a few. Artemis realized that it could destroy the world and Mount Olympus, because the immortals were becoming increasingly angry, and some mortals were already feeling the wrath. She made a split second decision: she would kill all of the tigers that were the reason for this fight. She snuck back to the wetlands, and started. By the time she was almost done, the gods had stopped fighting and were begging her to stop. Artemis hesitated in killing the last tiger, and then agreed to this:
Artemis and her followers—a mix of nymphs, naiads and dogs—were walking in a wetland in Tasmania when an animal walked up. It was obviously very shy and afraid of the group. Artemis slowed down, wondering what this strange creature was. The animal looked like a tiger, with the stripes and everything, but it was built like a dog. Because of this, and because this animal was first seen in Tasmania, Artemis decided to name it the Tasmanian tiger. She decided that she would tell her relatives, the Olympians, about the tiger and then hunt one or two to add to her collection of animal furs.
Artemis started to run towards Mount Olympus, and then she noticed that the tiger was following her! She stopped, told the rest of her group to go on, and then turned to face the tiger. She pulled out one of her unlimited arrows, fit it to her bow, took aim, and shot. The tiger stood still the entire time, staring at the silver bow curiously. Artemis sighed as she turned around again, now holding a dead Tasmanian tiger in her hand, the bow strapped once more onto her back.
When she finally reached Mount Olympus, and the rest of her family, Artemis went straight to where Zeus and Poseidon were having an argument (probably about the weather).
“Father, uncle,” she said to them. Zeus glanced at her, and then, reluctantly and with a “We will continue this!” to his brother, turned to face one of his favorite children.
“Yes?” he asked, a bit annoyed. Poseidon turned to face his niece as well.
“I found a new species.”
Athena joined them immediately. “A new species? May I see the skin?”
Artemis sighed, as usual annoyed at how Athena could figure out everything, and then passed over the, yes, now removed skin that she had put into her quiver. Athena took it with a look of great happiness, then frowned. Artemis wondered at the look on her face.
“What is it?” Poseidon asked impatiently.
“The skin is of a tiger, but it is shaped like a dog, right cousin?”
Artemis nodded.
Athena smiled. “May I study this?”
Artemis nodded again, and Athena walked off to her room/study.
“Why did you shoot it?” Zeus asked. “Why didn’t you show it to us first?”
“Because it was following me. I didn’t want an animal to dirty the floors of your great hall,” said Artemis with more than a hint of sarcasm. Zeus never understood sarcasm, so his children enjoyed abusing it.
Zeus nodded, pacified.
“Where did you find the animal?” Poseidon asked.
“In Tasmania, in the wetlands. I named it the Tasmanian tiger.”
Poseidon seemed to think. “If you found it in the wetlands...” he said slowly.
Artemis winced, for she knew an argument was going to start over whose animal this was. There was always an argument over new species, but this one would be worse than usual. Because the tiger lives in the wetlands, it could be part of Poseidon’s realm, but as it was on the land, it wasn’t technically a sea animal.
Artemis slipped away, meaning to hunt some more. Unfortunately, the fight between Poseidon and Zeus got so serious that Artemis was almost fried by a lightning bolt! She turned around, furious, and then she saw that the fight had gone on to include some other gods and goddesses; Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, and Dionysus were but a few. Artemis realized that it could destroy the world and Mount Olympus, because the immortals were becoming increasingly angry, and some mortals were already feeling the wrath. She made a split second decision: she would kill all of the tigers that were the reason for this fight. She snuck back to the wetlands, and started. By the time she was almost done, the gods had stopped fighting and were begging her to stop. Artemis hesitated in killing the last tiger, and then agreed to this:
The tiger would be kept at Mount Olympus forever, and the gods would make sure that it doesn’t breed, but Tasmanian tigers wouldn’t be extinct. And, as an afterthought, Artemis made her family agree that the tiger would be part of her realm.
So that is why there are no more Tasmanian tigers. At least, not on Earth.
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