The Short Tragic Life of Leo the Marsupial Lion

Book excerpt: Leo’s remains were discovered in a remote cave on the Nullarbor Plain. He was a marsupial lion, Thylacoleo, one of Australia’s most extraordinary megafauna (extinct giant animals), thought to have lived approximately 500,000 years ago. This fascinating book recreates Leo’s life in the period leading up to his early and tragic death. The story also recounts the process by which Leo became a fossil, and then his eventual ‘discovery’ by contemporary museum scientists. The book also provides an insight into the work of palaeontologists in researching, recovering and investigating fossil remains.