diff --git a/tribev2/__init__.py b/tribev2/__init__.py
index d9ea2c39..8e3b6ff4 100644
--- a/tribev2/__init__.py
+++ b/tribev2/__init__.py
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 # This source code is licensed under the license found in the
 # LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
 
-from tribev2.demo_utils import TribeModel
+try:
+    from tribev2.demo_utils import TribeModel
+except ImportError:
+    # Optional demo dependencies may be unavailable
+    TribeModel = None
 
 __all__ = ["TribeModel"]