Thursday 25 February 2021

The Thylacine -extinct or still breeding?

 

Tasmanian Tiger

The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is considered an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the island state of Tasmania and the Australian mainland. It is believed to have first appeared about 2 million years ago. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasmania. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger because of its striped lower back.

However more than 1,200 sightings have been reported from 1910 until 2019 .This has lead to expeditions by scientists and cryptozoologists to search for proof it still exists.

Early in 2021 a video uploaded to YouTube by Neil Waters, president of the Thylacine Awareness Group of Australia, claims to have rediscovered the thylacine on a camera trap set up in north-east Tasmania. Flicking through images from his SD card, Waters claims to have seen an entire family. His camera trap had captured photos of a family of three thylacines, including a baby, which was “proof of breeding”.

This caused much excitement among the cryptozoology community and zoologists but it was not to last.

“A wildlife expert has dismissed claims of a sighting of the extinct Tasmanian tiger, declaring the animals photographed were most likely pademelons.Nick Mooney, honorary curator of vertebrate zoology at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery reviewed and assessed the material provided by Waters.In a statement, TMAG said Mooney had “concluded that based on the physical characteristics shown in the photos provided, the animals are very unlikely to be thylacines, and most likely Tasmanian pademelons.”

Source:https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/23/wildlife-expert-pours-cold-water-on-claims-tasmanian-tiger-family-spotted

So what are we left to think? Much as I would love for the Tasmanian Tiger to be alive I am no expert and have to bow to expert opinion. I hope that maybe Waters can follow up with more evidence to prove his case.There should be droppings or hair samples in the area from the animals he filmed.I hope he finds them.

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