Eyewitness accounts of large, dog-like animals in state’s far north spur scientific hunt for thylacines, thought to have died out in 1936

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

“Plausible” possible sightings of a Tasmanian tiger in northern Queensland have prompted scientists to undertake a search for the species thought to have died out more than 80 years ago.

The last thylacine is thought to have died in Hobart zoo in 1936, and it is widely believed to have become extinct on mainland Australia at least 2,000 years ago.

But sightings of large, dog-like animals that are neither dingoes nor foxes have persisted over the decades, despite widespread scepticism.

Tasmanian tiger sightings: 'I represent 3,000 people who have been told they’re nuts' Read more

Recent eyewitness accounts of potential thylacines in far north Queensland have spurred scientists from James Cook University to launch a search for the animal long considered extinct.

Professor Bill Laurance said he had spoken at length to two people about animals they had seen in Cape York peninsula that could potentially be thylacines, and that they had given plausible and detailed descriptions.



One was a long-time employee of the Queensland National Parks Service and the other was a frequent camper in the north of the state.

Laurance said all the potential sightings to date had been at night. “In one case four animals were observed at close range – about 20 feet away – with a spotlight.”

Descriptions of their eyes, size, shape and behaviour were inconsistent with known attributes of other large species in north Queensland such as dingoes, wild dogs or feral pigs.

The sightings were at two separate locations on Cape York peninsula, but the specifics were being kept confidential, said Laurance. “Everything is being handled with strict confidence.”



He said people who claimed to have seen a thylacine were “very nervous about relating their tales for fear of being branded kooks or fringe types”.

Richard Dawkins had tweeted hopefully of news of the study.

“Can it be true? Has Thylacinus been seen alive? And in mainland Australia not Tasmania? I so want it to be true.”

Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) Can it be true? https://t.co/4Qjv8jdzXm Has Thylacinus been seen alive? And in mainland Australia not Tasmania? I so want it to be true.

Sandra Abell, a researcher with James Cook University’s Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science who was leading the field survey, said they had been contacted with more possible sightings since their intentions were publicised.

She was in the process of deciding on sites for the more than 50 “camera traps” to be set up on Cape York peninsula, with the survey due to get under way when the dry season begins in April or May.



Abell said even if a thylacine was not detected, the survey would inform the centre’s understanding of the status of rare and endangered mammal species on the peninsula.

Many mammals, including the northern bettong, were at risk from introduced predators, she said.

“It is a low possibility that we’ll find thylacines, but we’ll certainly get lots of data on the predators in the area and that will help our studies in general.”

It was “not impossible” there were thylacines to be found, she said. “It’s not a mythical creature. A lot of the descriptions people give, it’s not a glimpse in the car headlights. People who say they’ve actually seen them can describe them in great detail, so it’s hard to say they’ve seen anything else.

“I’m not ruling it out at all, but to actually get them on camera will be incredibly lucky.”

Thylacine “truthers” active on Facebook were emboldened by the recent rediscovery of the night parrot in Western Australia, presumed extinct until 2013, and photographed this month.

“Maybe old stripey next?” commented one member of the Thylacine Awareness Group.</s>Possible sightings of a Tasmanian Tiger in Queensland have prompted a search for the supposedly extinct species. It was thought that these creatures had died out about a century ago. Yet it looks like a couple of them are alive and well in the Land Down Under.

Termed a “thylacine”, the last specimen of this animal died in Hobart Zoo in 1936. About 2000 years ago, the Tasmanian Tiger went extinct in Australia. The only few members left alive eked out an existence in Tasmania.

Yet sightings of oversized dog-like animals that resemble neither dogs nor foxes have been made over the years. The skeptics are there though. They say that such a possibility is very unlikely.

Eyewitness accounts abound though and that too in the area known as Queensland. Two people have said that they possibly saw a thylacine in the region.

Seeing is believing and they gave detailed descriptions of these animals. One of these two was a national park employee and the other one was a casual camper in the region.

The sightings had been nocturnal ones. A spotlight held by one of the two individuals chanced upon four such creatures within a distance of 20 feet, according to The Guardian.

The descriptions show that these creatures were not dingoes, wild dogs or feral pigs. They were unique and singular. The sightings are being kept strictly under wraps.

Nobody wanted the public to get all uptight over this possible sighting. The problem was that the eyewitnesses didn’t want to be labeled as crazy or mad. Many skeptics thought they were simply hallucinating.

Richard Dawkins, the famous atheist, though said that if such a sighting was true, he would welcome it as proof of the fact that the Tasmanian Tiger was not extinct. More proof of sightings has been unearthed.

Cameras will soon be set up at various sites to provide proof of any such animals in the vicinity. The possibility still remains pretty low though. For one thing, we are not dealing with a mythical creature here. A thylacine is not exactly a medieval dragon.

The thylacine hunters have been further emboldened by the discovery of the night parrot earlier. They reason that if a parrot thought to have been wiped off the bush area in Australia happens to be alive and well, why can we not consider the Tasmanian Tiger to be extant too?</s>The last of these dog-like animals, also known as Tasmanian tigers, was thought to have died in 1936. But might they still be lurking elusively in the wild?

Like sightings of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster, eyewitness accounts of the thought-to-be extinct thylacine are often met with no small dose of skepticism. The largest carnivorous marsupial of the modern era, the beautifully striped thylacine once roamed mainland Australia, where it is believed to have become extinct some 2,000 years ago. In the wilds of Tasmania, however, it lived on, bearing the common name of Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf. But as is the fate of all too many animals, the last lone thylacine in the wild was believed to be killed in 1930; the last one in captivity died at the Hobart zoo in 1936.

While there was hope that perhaps a few stalwart members of the species has surreptitiously survived, the thylacine was officially declared extinct in the 1980s.

But that hasn’t stopped people from reporting sightings of the long-extinct creature. And now, detailed possible sightings of a Tasmanian tiger in north Queensland, Australia, have prompted scientists to undertake a search for the species, reports The Guardian.

Professor Bill Laurance from James Cook University says he has “plausible and detailed descriptions” from two people about mystery animals they had seen in Cape York peninsula; the animals could possibly be thylacines. One of the witnesses is a long-time employee of the Queensland National Parks Service; the other a frequent camper.

The descriptions of the sightings – some as close as 20 feet away – described physical features that are distinct from other large species in the area, animals like dingoes, wild dogs or feral pigs.

Sandra Abell, a researcher with James Cook University’s Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science who was leading the field survey, said they had been contacted with more possible sightings since their intentions were publicized, notes the Guardian.

Her team will install 50-plus camera traps for a survey that will begin this spring. Is she confident they will snare a snap of a Tasmanian tiger? Not exactly, but she says it’s not impossible.

“It’s not a mythical creature. A lot of the descriptions people give, it’s not a glimpse in the car headlights. People who say they’ve actually seen them can describe them in great detail, so it’s hard to say they’ve seen anything else.

“I’m not ruling it out at all,” she says, “but to actually get them on camera will be incredibly lucky.”

Whether or not hard evidence of the thylacine’s survival is found, the scientific search itself gives credence to the potential that they’re out there. And while confirmation that they defied extinction would be incredible news in times when animals are facing such disheartening declines, maybe (fingers crossed) the Tasmanian tiger’s elusiveness has been the secret to its success all along.</s>A major scientific search is underway in Queensland, Australia for the Tasmanian tiger,A series of possible 'plausible' sightings have triggered hope a rare species has returned from the brink.Camera traps are being deployed across Cape York Peninsula by James Cook University researchers to survey sites where the creature, also known as the Tasmanian wolf, was reportedly spotted.Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, the last of the thylacine species is thought to have died in a zoo in Hobart, Tasmania in 1936.Revived interest in the long-lost creature was sparked after a former tourism operator captured a sighting and contacted local experts.Professor Bill Laurance of James Cook University told ABC News "He was quite detailed in terms of his descriptions of eye shines and aspects of the body pattern and movements."A similar description at a separate, remote location in Far North Queensland was offered by a former National Parks Service ranger, reported Australian Geographic Over fifty hi-tech cameras baited with lures will now be set secretly across two undisclosed sites in the hope of finding the long-lost thylacine."We're not worried too much about legitimate scientists [doing that], but we're a little worried about what you might call the 'yobbo effect' — where somebody hears about it and then wants to go and shoot one of these things," Professor Laurance told ABC of their decision to stay tight lipped on specific locations.Last year the Thylacine Awareness Group of Australia released footage from 2008 of an apparent Tasmanian tiger roaming the wilds of southern Victoria.Laurance admits the chances of finding the Tasmanian tiger are slim but he hopes the expedition will provide valuable insights into regional biodiversity, where mammal populations are declining at an alarming rate.However there is a success-rate in rediscovering a lost species in the region. It was reported just last month that endangered northern bettongs were found in in Far North Queensland where it was previously believed they had died out.</s>A renewed search for the Tasmanian tiger will officially begin in April on a remote peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia. The effort, spearheaded by two researchers from James Cook University, comes on the heels of credible eyewitness observations of animals in the region matching the long-extinct species' description.

“We have cross-checked the descriptions we received of eyeshine colour, body size and shape, animal behavior, and other attributes, and these are inconsistent with known attributes of other large-bodied species in north Queensland such as dingoes, wild dogs or feral pigs,” Professor Bill Laurance said in a university news release.

A family of Tasmanian tigers as photographed at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart in 1910. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, is the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It was once widespread throughout the wetlands, forests, and grasslands of Australia, Tasmania and Papua New Guinea. Pressures from competing species like the invasive dingo, as well as a devastating cull to protect sheep by European settlers in the 19th century led to the population's collapse and subsequent extinction in 1936.

Over the ensuing decades, thousands of unsubstantiated reports have been filed from people claiming to have spotted a Tasmanian tiger. Legends of pockets of thylacine surviving in remote regions of Tasmania and Australia were so pervasive that rewards ranging from $100,000 to as much as $1.75 million were offered for the capture of a live animal.

So what is it about these two eyewitness reports from the Cape York Peninsula that have renewed scientific interest in the species? According to Laurance, who has spoken at length to both individuals, it's both their credibility and what they saw that's most intriguing.

“One of those observers was a long-time employee of the Queensland National Parks Service, and the other was a frequent camper and outdoorsman in north Queensland," he said. "All observations of putative thylacines to date have been at night, and in one case four animals were observed at close range — about 20 feet away — with a spotlight."

You can see rare footage, captured in 1933, of a Tasmanian tiger in captivity below.

The researchers, who plan to deploy 50 high-tech camera traps throughout the Cape, are keeping the locations of the sightings and upcoming survey a closely guarded secret. Regardless of whether or not any Tasmanian tigers are discovered, the search is expected to collect valuable information on local species.

"It is a low possibility that we’ll find thylacines," co-investigator Dr. Sandra Abell told 9News , "but we’ll certainly get lots of data on the predators in the area and that will help our studies in general."
Accounts of sightings of animals thought to resemble the extinct thylacine, the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times, prompt a search in the Far North of the Australian state of Queensland.