Thylacine controversy

[ILUVSWTAS]

Ok so I heard something really interesting from someone today and just thought id share it with my friends of BWT..(actually that should now just be BW)
Im not saying I believe this, I just found it interesing....

A guy I know said he heard from someone he knows (no names given) from the lands department back in the late 80's or early 90's, once had some kind of proof of the existance of the tigers. It seems that the goverment and forestry tas (or gunns) worked together to shut him up ( not sure if it was a payout for the evidence or some kind of permanent silencing ) as they felt if this information became public it would mean an end to all forestry practices immediately. Obviously at the time the goverment in charge was shocked at the thought of what would happen to Tasmania's income if we didnt have a forestry industry

As I said I dont really believe this, it's just a cool story, and I love a bit of controversy.... SO let the opinions start.........

[pazzar]

I like to believe that they still exist - and for the sake of ending forestry, I hope they do!

[stu]

Andrew Hughes (Expedition Class) is off to have a crack by the looks of it:

http://www.expeditionclass.com/

[ILUVSWTAS]

Go Andrew!! He's always up to something cool! Was so impressed with the Penguin to Cockle trip he did. Via penguin-cradle-overland-KW-Denisons-raftlakegordon-Franklands-PortDavey-SCT-Southern Ranges...... just a simple 40 day walk.....

[Macca81]

i doubt they are still out there, the odds are against them, but i like to think they are

[whiskeylover]

There is a strange phenomenon in Tasmania where nobody will admit seeing one in public, but under cover many will say they think they have seen one. There is also the phenomenon of a concerted effort by most to ridicule anyone who thinks they have seen one. Therefore I doubt you will get much debate on this topic because I don't think anyone will be brave enough to own up to having seen one. I suspect they're still out there, considering the quantity of anecdotal evidence.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Excellent point! Me and a couple of mates (we had been drinking yes) saw a very odd animal up the NE one year. It had a long tail, was medium dog sized, and loped like a hyeina would. 3 of us saw it, no one would say what they thought it not only WAS but what it could be. We saw it go into some bushes near a river, we ran up there and tried to flush it out but nothing emerged.

[ollster]

Saw a freaking big feral cat once when driving home from a walk. It was the size of a medium dog, but didn't move like a dog. Didn't get a good look at it, apart from the shape in the distance and the way it moved. Not saying there aren't Tigers, but this was a bit unusual and clearly not a Tiger.

[corvus]

If I was ever lucky enough to see one I would advise Parks at first oppotunity however I an not holding my breath just hopeing.
corvus

[Ent]

Given how rare it is to spot Devils it would not surprise me if one or more is kicking around and in that case the policy would be in my government of extreme needs to know to protect them from rubber neckers.

As for strange animals I spotted a very long legged wombat once at night but then again it might have been a very fat but shorn sheep. Way to easy to muck things up when the instinct is to avoid hitting things at highway speed.

Looking at the stuffed Tigers I often wonder if there were at least two species as some appear short legged and others longer legged.

Cheers Brett

[johnw]

I have an open mind on the subject and ever hopeful that they still exist. During a Tassie trip last August we conducted our own (tongue-in-cheek) "search" focusing on tiger "hot spots" where possible. Just day walks, needless to say we didn't find any. Places like the Blue Tier for example. We heard noises but that could have been anything. For an entertaining read with a hypothesis try "Thylacine Conspiracy" by Bill Cromer (pure fiction but thought provoking).

[north-north-west]

A guy I know said he heard from someone he knows (no names given) from the lands department back in the late 80's or early 90's, once had some kind of proof of the existance of the tigers. It seems that the goverment and forestry tas (or gunns) worked together to shut him up ( not sure if it was a payout for the evidence or some kind of permanent silencing ) as they felt if this information became public it would mean an end to all forestry practices immediately. Obviously at the time the goverment in charge was shocked at the thought of what would happen to Tasmania's income if we didnt have a forestry industry

As I said I dont really believe this, it's just a cool story, and I love a bit of controversy.... SO let the opinions start.........

This may be related to the last publicised definite sighting of a Thylacine, which was made by a TasPAWS researcher in the early '80s. I know the bloke involved, and he wasn't one to make it official unless he was 110% certain. He wasn't a boozer, either. And he was working in an area where a remnant breeding population could easily have survived without being noticed.
The pity was that he wasn't set-up for photos when they arrived. He didn't get the automatic infra-red camera equipment until later.

Now, it's quite possible that with the information he was able to give, that a hush-hush expedition could have been mounted to obtain definite proof of existence . . .

[ILUVSWTAS]

As George Lucas once famously wrote

THE SAGA CONTINUES......


Im really enjoying the thought of this story!

[corvus]

I so hope it is so but tend to think that we have done to it like we have done to so many creatures.
corvus

[Taurë-rana]

Go Andrew!! He's always up to something cool! Was so impressed with the Penguin to Cockle trip he did. Via penguin-cradle-overland-KW-Denisons-raftlakegordon-Franklands-PortDavey-SCT-Southern Ranges...... just a simple 40 day walk.....

Off-topic, that's something I've been wanting to do for years and years. Bit hard to organise when you have kids though.

I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if what you said at the start of the topic is true Mark, that has been the culture of this State unfortunately. It would be nice if things changed.

[Expedition Class]

Hello to forum members (this is my first post) and thankyou to those of you that have built a formidable resource for budding and experienced walkers alike. In reference to an earlier post in this thread, Expedition Class is indeed heading out with a few remote sensing cameras and pile of peanuts in search of the thylacine. In doing so we will be exploring Tasmanian biodiversity with school students via the live website and downloadable classroom resources. All schools are welcome to participate in October and November on this adventure learning project.
When students begin using the forum during the expedition some of you could help field a few of the questions hopefully.

Cheers
Andrew Hughes
Expedition Class

[Liamy77]

When i was 10 (23 years ago) dad and i found some footprints running about 6 meters to a river edge in the hartz mountain area. It had no other tracks near by and did not return from the edge of the river (ie it swam) dad took o slide of it using his sunglasses as a scale. He kept it quiet and we had the slide for a while but it has since dissapeared. It did match the descriptions perfectly and had the extra dew claw type markings too.

I think they at least were still around longer than we thought.... dont know how long for though

[ILUVSWTAS]

What do people think this is??

[geoskid]

Looks like some native grass.
Oh that! - looks like a striped puppy kangaroo thing.

[ollster]

Whinnie the Pooh. But seriously, those are grass shadows, not stripes. Surely?

[ILUVSWTAS]

A few have said that Oll. I think they are too uniformed to be shadows.
Most people think this isnt fake, but it also isnt a tiger. I agree with that,

A)feral pig
B)Bandicoot
C)dog or fox made up to look like tiger
D)african plain animal zebra duiker made out to be a shot from Tassie
E)Thylacine?

F)photoshopped platypus

It's a good fake if it is fake.

[geoskid]

Whats the story with the pic?
What do you think it is?

Sorry - crossover post.

[north-north-west]

Not grass shadows - the light's wrong, the stripes are too uniform. Feral pig?

But the only way to be sure with a thylacine is the head or the hindquarters and tail. Both are very distinctive. There's no other animal with a head like that, especially with that jawline and gape. And the wasp-waist, angular rump and stiff tail are also unique.
It's just so perfectly camouflaged amidst tree ferns. The stripes and the line of the backbone echo the fronds exactly. You could be five feet from one and not know it.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Truth Geo? I really dont know.
Id LOVE to think it was real but well... photoshop does some amazing things. Where the pic came from I wont say publically....

In all reality it probably is either fake or yeh pig... do we have feral pigs in Tas? yeh i spose

[Ent]

Maybe all the Tassie Tigers were abducted by aliens with the odd one been sent back to test humans reaction as part of elaborate war plans Saw a lovely graph on the believable UFO sighting on one axis and availability of Photoshop on the other I hope they are out there but they must be few in number and very shy if they are. Makes you wonder how boy tiger meets girl tiger Any hints Ollster

Cheers Brett

[Son of a Beach]

Those stripes look painted on to me. Ie, there doesn't appear to be any depth to them - ginger fur under the black fur. But of course there's not enough detail to be certain either way.

PS. Plus I've never seen a real thylacine in person (nor even a real confirmed colour photo of one), so maybe that's what they really do look like. Ie, maybe their stripes are only on the tips of the hairs.

[corvus]

With the shape of the back and spacing of the "stripes" it looks like a Barred Bandicoot (Perameles gunnii ) is that bare skin on its thigh.
corvus

[ILUVSWTAS]

It's WAY too big to be a bandicoot surely Corvus??
They are tiny little critters.

[corvus]

I would get this checked by an "expert" however judging from the short body length and its proximity to the ground (perhaps its dead) and the exact positioning of the bars its location in a grass tussock I am convinced that it is a Barred bandicoot.
Sorry if any one is disappointed
corvus

[Macca81]

Those stripes look painted on to me. Ie, there doesn't appear to be any depth to them - ginger fur under the black fur. But of course there's not enough detail to be certain either way.

my initial thoughts also.
the stuffed ones at the museum definatly have black stripes, all the way down to the skin.