A brief history of Thylacine sightings

Ever since the last Tasmanian Tiger died in captivity 61 years ago, there has been many sightings, videos and photos to prove that Thylacines still exist.

According to the founder of the Thylacine Awareness Group, Neil Waters, one of the most convincing photos taken of the marsupial was by Andrew Orchard in 2012. 

The blurry photo was taken in North East Tasmania, and shows what looks to be a marsupial-like creature from behind. 

While many concede that the photo is interesting, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the animal is a Thylacine.

Mr Waters said that the most important video evidence of a modern Tasmanian Tiger was shot in 1973.

The video, captured by Liz and Gary Doyle, shows a four-legged creature resembling a Thylacine scrambling across a camping ground.

What makes the grainy video even more intriguing is that the video was filmed in South Australia.

“They’re in all types of habitats on the mainland, and they’re a lot in coastal districts,” Mr Waters said.

“They do like the coast, contrary to what you might think.”

Mr Waters is adamant about the presence of Thylacines throughout the entire country, and claims that he has seen the creature on several occasions in Tasmania and on the mainland.

The majority of videos and photos of Thylacine sightings in recent years are not Tasmanian.

A teacher from the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, captured footage of a four-legged animal hopping through a field in 2016.

Mr Waters also said a video caught in the Adelaide Hills in 2016 is further evidence of the Tasmanian Tiger’s existence.

Even James Cook University is getting in on the act by placing 50 cameras around Cape York, Queensland, in an attempt to capture footage of a Thylacine.

QVMAG natural sciences curator David Maynard, however, has not been convinced by any reported sightings.

He said that the only way to possibly verify that the marsupial was not extinct was to produce physical evidence of the creature to a museum.

Mr Maynard has no doubt in his mind that the last of the Thylacines are long-gone.

“Every year there are 239,000 animals killed on Australian roads, year in, year out,” he said. 

“Not one of them is a Thylacine. There’s not even a good hindquarter or skull.

“There’s nothing to support it, year after year."