The Tantanoola Tiger

The Tantanoola Tiger can be found at the Tiger Hotel, Tantanoola in the Limestone Coast of South Australia.

In the early 1880’s, a small circus was making its way between Millicent & Mt Gambier and camped for the night, in the morning they discovered the Bengal Tiger had escaped. After searching for the tiger, they reported the loss to the police.

Whilst many hours were spent searching over the next few weeks by police and volunteers, no sightings were made.

In the early 1890’s, sheep began disappearing from the Tantanoola area, blame being laid at the feet of the tiger, although no sightings of it were ever made. In 1893, reports surfaced of an unusual animal in the Tantanoola area. Some described it as the missing tiger, some claimed it was just a large dog.

Tales were told, some true, many exaggerated. Supposedly, Tantanoola was a town besieged by the lurking tiger. In August of 1895, Mr. Tom Donovan shot the ‘Tantanoola Tiger’ on Mt Salt Station, some 20kms south of Tantanoola.

The animal was taken to a taxidermist in Mt Gambier, who identified it as an Assyrian or Northern Russian Wolf. Donovan displayed the famous animal far and wide. It is generally believed that the animal came to Australia via one of three ships wrecked off the coast, between 1890-1893.