In the distant past they also populated the continent of Australia, and perhaps many of the surrounding islands, but became extinct about 2000 years ago as they were pushed out by competing animals like the Dingo. They carried their young in pouches as do other marsupials like the kangaroo and the koala. They also sported a long, heavy, kangaroo-like tail. The tigers' primary food source were small mammals like wallabies, kangaroos and rats. The tiger's feet left a five toed print which is similar, but easily distinguished from a dog's.
Dogs have only four toes.
The largest of them grew six feet long, including the tail, and they stood two feet high at the shoulder. At the end of the 19th century as humans moved into the tiger's territories, conflicts arose. Farmers blamed the tigers for livestock losses. Development of cultivated land also interfered with the animal's habitat. A bounty was placed on the creatures and thousands of them were killed.