The thylacine was declared extinct in 1936 but eight reports of sightings in the past three years give hope that the animal has survived.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThe scientists they had declared its extinction in 1936, but the Australian government has received well over the past three years eight reports of sightings by tourists and residents sure that they have met the animal.
Let's talk about the Tasmanian tiger, also known as thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial who lived in Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania.
The super predator represented the only surviving species of the Thylacinidae family: it resembled a hyena large, with a length that could reach two meters, including the tail, a height of about 65 centimeters and a weight of up to 30 kg.
The muzzle of the animal was similar to that of a dog or a fox, with a curved body and a long, thick, stiff tail. The hair of the thylacine was short and tawny in color, with one characteristic streak in the back of the back, hence the name "marsupial tiger".
Although the animal was at the top of the food chain, it is believed that hunting, combined with the destruction of its habitat and competition with the dingo, caused its extinction first in Australia, then in New Guinea and finally in Tasmania.
Since then, scientists have not stopped searching for thylacine specimens in the wild, hoping that the species has survived. According to the numerous sightings it is possible that this is really the case: in some reports witnesses say they are 100% sure that the animal they encountered was indeed a Tasmanian tiger.
The reports were recently published by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment: from 2016 to today, eight people claim to have encountered specimens of thylacine, alone or with their puppies, or to have found footprints of this animal.
Scientists have been conserving the DNA of the Tasmanian Tiger since 2002 and the marsupial is candidate for cloning projects, but the hope is that it still exists in nature and these reports are proof that the extinction of the thylacine never occurred.
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Tatiana Maselli
Photo credit: The Thiylacine Museum
