Panther or thylacine?

Tassie Mel Mcmillan | 18th February 2012

THE Northern Rivers may be home to a thylacine-type animal thought to be extinct on the mainland for more than 3000 years, according to a wildlife expert.

With recent sightings of an unusual animal reported in the Nimbin Valley and Byron Bay, and many more sightings in previous years across the region, wildlife expert Gary Opit said a thylacine was a possible explanation.

Mr Opit is an expert in identifying fauna and hosts a weekly wildlife segment on ABC North Coast.

He said he had received about 50 reports of a creature he calls the "mystery cryptic animal of Northern NSW."

Many of the sightings have occurred around Mullumbimby and Byron Bay.

One of the most compelling accounts came from a Byron Bay veterinary nurse in 2008 when she saw a large fawn creature weighing about 18kg in her backyard.

"At 6am she heard a sound that was like possum grunting," Mr Opit said.

"She saw what she at first thought was a dog about to attack a cat and rushed between them to protect the cat from the dog and realised it wasn't a dog.

"It was nothing like a dog. It was dog sized. It gave these bizarre possum like coughing grunts at her. She observed it for 5 minutes."

Mr Opit himself has encountered a similar animal on four occasions, once in 1969, on the Pacific Hwy, north of Beenleigh, and three times since 2007 in the Billinudgel nature reserve at Yelgun.

The animals could be thylacines or the marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex, he said.

"There is nothing in the fossil record of the thylacine on the mainland since 3000 years ago, but there have been lots of reports of them from the early days of settlement to the present.

The marsupial lion was only known from fossil specimens which were 38,000 years old.

The thylacine was perceived to be extinct 50 or so years ago, he said, which made it much more likely it could still be in existence.

"It is more than likely they are all of the one species," he said.

Byron Bay biologist Mary Gardner has also seen an unusual animal which she was unwilling to try to classify.

In late October or early November last year she was walking along Lighthouse Rd at Byron Bay with a friend when both saw the animal.

"I don't know what it was," she said.

"It was something that does not fit in with anything I know at all.

"It had a long snout, thick rounded ears, a bony rump; it had a long wiry tail and a lean, hard body with stripes toward the rump."

Ms Gardner said when she first saw the animal she thought it would hop because it had long back legs and a raised rump, but was surprised when it moved with a rocking pacing gait.

She knew of two other local people who reported seeing an animal "which confused their expectations," at about the same time.

Ms Gardner said the starting point in determining what the animal was would be to discover what it was eating.

If someone could gather some good evidence then research could possibly be done, she said.

 Watch videos at:  http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2012/02/18/panther-or-thylacine-prowler-gets-around/

SXSW Announces Features Lineup For 2012 Film Festival

The Hunter (Australia)
Director: Daniel Nettheim, Screenplay by: Alice Addison, Novel by: Julia Leigh, Original Adaptation by: Wain Fimeri
A mercenary is dispatched from Europe to the Tasmanian wilderness by a mysterious biotech company to search for the last surviving Tasmanian tiger.
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor, Sam Neill (U.S. Premiere)


http://insidepulse.com/2012/02/01/sxsw-announces-features-lineup-for-2012-film-festival/

Alleged thylacine sightings

By Samantha Turnbull

More alleged thylacine spottings have been reported to our wildlife expert Gary Opit

Officially they no longer exist, but that hasn't stopped wildlife watchers spotting thylacines in northern New South Wales.

Also known as tasmanian tigers, the last known thylacine is believed to have died in a Hobart zoo in 1936.

Since then, there have been hundreds of unconfirmed sightings of the animals across Australia, including a handful around Nimbin in recent weeks.

ABC North Coast wildlife expert Gary Opit says the recent spotters insisted the mysterious animals were not dogs, cats or foxes.


Read on:  http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/02/15/3431496.htm

Trail bikers find suspected tasmanian tiger skull

Two trail bike riders claim to have discovered what could be the skull of a tasmanian tiger while filming during a ride through bushland.

The skull is being scientifically evaluated this morning.

Brothers Levi and Jarom Triffitt are members of the Tassie Boys, a group of stunt trail bike riders based in central northern Tasmania.

They say they were riding in bushland last week while filming stunts for a promotional video when they came across the skull.

They say it is unlike anything they have ever seen before, and closely resembles the skull of a thylacine.

"Lot's of people think 'dog', but when you actually get on Google and compare it to your normal dogs that are in Tasmania, the closest thing we could find it to was an American timber wolf, which I don't believe we have here," Jarom said.

The last known tasmanian tiger died in the Hobart Zoo in 1936.

Levi denies the find is a hoax.

"We were just having a regular day - just doing some photography and filming," he said.

The brothers plan to have the skull checked in Launceston this morning.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-16/tests-conducted-on-tasmanian-tiger-skull/3773762

Tasmanian Tiger rears its head in Daisy Hill (via Chad Arment)

FIRST there was reports of a black panther at Eagleby, and now Daisy Hill residents Lisa and Sean Smith believe they have spotted the extinct Tasmanian Tiger.

The world's last captive Tasmanian Tiger died in Hobart Zoo in 1936.

However, Mrs Smith said one could very well be living in the Daisy Hill Forest.

``A few years ago we were standing in the back yard and we (husband Sean and father Barry) saw this fox-like creature staring at us,'' she said.

``Then we looked at it properly and it didn't look like a fox at all, it had a long thin whippy tail, stripes on its back and it was a lot bigger than a fox.

``A few years ago we were in Tasmania and saw this book (on Tasmanian Tigers), and thought it looked a lot like what we saw. We sight it every now and then and can hear it screaming and making noises at night.''

With their home backing on to the Kimberly Forest Park which connects to Daisy Hill Forest, Mrs Smith said there was definitely something interesting in there.

``I'm happy to think something like the Tasmanian Tiger defied the odds and survived. We're trying to take a photo for proof next time we see it, but sometimes we won't see it for a year, then it comes back.''

According to the Tasmanian Government's Department of Primary Industrys, Parks, Water and Environment, the thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger), was the the world's largest marsupial carnivore and fossils and Aboriginal rock paintings showed that the thylacine once lived throughout Australia and New Guinea.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/logan/tasmanian-tiger-rears-its-head-in-daisy-hill/story-fn8m0u8i-1226158325064

Tasmanian tiger's jaws were too weak to kill sheep

At the end of the 19th Century, the thylacine had a price on its head.

The strange marsupial carnivore, which became extinct in 1936, was thought to kill sheep. Sheep farming was the backbone of the Australian economy, and the government duly set up a bounty scheme to exterminate the species.

But a new study has now revealed that the marsupial carnivore's jaws were too weak to snare a struggling adult sheep.

The findings are reported in the Journal of Zoology.

As well as revealing the injustice of its being hunted, the study also suggests that the animal's diet contributed significantly to its demise.

"They would need to hunt a lot of small animals to survive," explained lead researcher Marie Attard from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney.

"So just small disturbances to the ecosystem - such as those resulting from the way European settlers altered the land - would have reduced their odds of survival."

Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the death of what is believed to have been the last remaining thylacine, named Ben. The animal was kept at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.

Thylacines, also known as Tasmanian tigers because of their striped back, used to roam throughout Australia and New Guinea. By the end of the 19th Century, Tasmania was the last refuge for a few remaining animals.

"It was given a really poor reputation in its day - accused of being a vicious, wasteful sheep killer," said Ms Attard.

'Digital crash test'
She and her colleagues, including Stephen Wroe - also from UNSW - examined the animal's skull.

"We scanned the skull and then used the same software on it that you would use in engineering, to investigate the stresses on man-made structures, such as bridges and aircraft wings," explained Dr Wroe.

This digital "crash test" revealed that thylacine's jaws were simply too weak to have brought down an adult sheep.

"If a large carnivore - like a big cat for example - wants to take down a big prey item, it has to clamp down on its throat and suffocate it," said Dr Wroe.

"A thylacine wouldn't have been capable of this."
Dr Wroe also explained that thylacine's teeth were "built for slicing" rather than for crushing bone.

Comparing its skull performance with closely related, living species with known diets, the scientists were able to predict the likely body size of its prey.

"It probably fed on small animals, such as possums," said Dr Wroe. "And its limited diet would have made it more vulnerable to extinction."

But, at the time, people were afraid of the strange, long-snouted tiger.

Ms Attard told BBC Nature: "After only a century of European settlement the thylacine was pushed to the brink of extinction.

"The species puzzled settlers and people would hunt them out of fear and hate."

Eventually, when the imminent extinction of the species became apparent, the thylacine received official protection from the Tasmanian government. But by then it was far too late.

"That was just two months before the last known individual died at Hobart Zoo," said Ms Attard.

"The terrible loss of the thylacine signifies unjustified, negligent destruction of our native flora and fauna. It is a cautionary reminder of what we have lost, and that without urgent intervention other species will suffer the same fate."

The Australian team use hi-tech scanning and "biomechanics" to examine the feeding patterns of extinct and living endangered animals.

Their recent studies have also revealed some surprising insights into the bite force of great white sharks.

Ms Attard concluded: "An understanding of risk factors - such as habitat and diet specialisation - in species that have already become extinct may help guard against future biodiversity loss by anticipating and preventing species declines before they begin."

By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC Nature
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/14730055

Call of the Thylacine: Protect the Wild

KAKADU NATIONAL PARK, Australia -- Eleven thousand miles from my home in Wisconsin, this national park is one of my favorite places on the planet -- a vast area of wetlands, woodlands and rock formations that is home to a fantastic array of wildlife.

Kakadu (pronounced KACK-a-doo), one of Unesco's World Heritage sites, has almost 300 bird species (more than a third of Australia's birds), more than 60 mammals and more than 120 reptiles, including large saltwater crocodiles, monitor lizards and, oh yes, lots of snakes, the object of one of my earliest boyhood fascinations.

In addition to seeing some of its dangerous residents -- from a respectful distance -- I am hoping to rediscover the image of a magnificent marsupial, the thylacine, that I first saw on a visit more than 20 years ago. The image is still etched in my memory — not because I saw it in the flesh, but because it was painted on a rock.

http://ow.ly/5T3Ub

Video: Thylacine Sighting from Jan 2009?

More videos and info can be found on Murray McAllister’s Search for the Tasmanian Tiger website. Read more: http://cryptoworld.co.uk/video-thylacine-sighting-from-jan-2009/

Thylacine lives up to its tiger moniker

Andrew Darby, Hobart
May 5, 2011

CLOSE study of thylacine leg bones has pointed to the lost marsupial's hunting technique, showing it probably behaved more like a tiger than a wolf.

Work on the thylacine's tell-tale elbow joint by US scientists found it was flexible enough to subdue prey after a surprise attack, indicating it was a sudden ambush predator.

The shape of the joint contrasts with those of dingoes and wolves, which have less foreleg movement, which is why they may rely on lengthy pack hunts, said biologists at Brown University, Rhode Island.

Scientists have been forced to forensically reconstruct the life of the unique striped marsupial, which was driven to extinction by hunters in Tasmania last century.

With a head like a large dog and a body striped like a cat, known as both the marsupial wolf and Tasmanian tiger, the animal's hunting habits were poorly documented.

In a study published in Biology Letters yesterday, Brown University researcher Borja Figueirido compared the bones of the thylacine with 31 other mammals.

Previous research pointed to the elbow joint as a clue to predatory habits because it showed whether the animal was built for flexibility and dexterity in handling prey, or for a chase.

''It's a very subtle thing,'' said Christine Janis, professor of biology in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown. ''You never would think that the shape of just one bone would mean so much.''

Examining the bones, the researchers found the thylacine's humerus, or upper ''arm'' bone, was oval and elongated at the end closest to the elbow, implying the foreleg bones, the radius and ulna, were separated. That meant the thylacine would have been able to rotate the lower leg so that the foot pad faced up like a cat's.

Professor Janis said the thylacine's hunting tactics appeared to be a unique mix. "I don't think there's anything like it around today," she said. "It's sort of like a cat-like fox."

David Owen, author of the 2003 natural history Thylacine, told The Age conflicting accounts of the animal's speed and agility meant its hunting behaviour was still subject to conjecture. ''This work lends weight to it being an ambush predator, but I'm not convinced that it's not a pursuit predator by any means.''

http://www.theage.com.au/national/thylacine-lives-up-to-its-tiger-moniker-20110504-1e8fh.html

What Exactly Was The Australian Thylacine?

Though highly similar in their skull anatomy, specialized for a carnivorous diet, the thylacine, front, and the dingo very likely had different hunting styles. Researchers analyzing skeletons of the forelimbs found important differences
CREDIT: Carl Buell

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 May 2011, 09:45 CDT

The thylacine had the head and body of a dog, but its striped coat resembled a cat and it carried its young in a pouch like a kangaroo. These enigmatic, iconic creatures of Australia and Tasmania have been given conflicting names such as the “marsupial wolf” and the “Tasmanian tiger.”

Researchers at Brown University may have discovered the answer as to what type of creature the extinct thylacine was.

Bones of the thylacines, along with other dog-like and cat-like animals such as pumas, jackals, wolves and Tasmania devils, were examined by the researchers. Their findings concluded that these creatures were Tasmanian tigers, which meant that they were more like cats than dogs, and were clearly a marsupial.

The thylacine was able to rotate its arm so that the palm faced upwards, similar to a cat, reports BBC News. This allowed the animal to increase the amount of arm and paw movement to help the Tasmanian tiger subdue its prey after an ambush.

Borja Figueirido, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University and lead author says, "We provide quantitative support to the suspicions of earlier researchers that the thylacine was not a pursuit predator. Although there is no doubt that the thylacine diet was similar to that of living wolves, we find no compelling evidence that they hunted similarly."

The research, published in Biology Letters, shows that the extinct thylacine was a “solitary, ambush-style predator, with hunting skills that are unlike those of wolves or dog-like species that hunt in packs and pursue their prey over distances.

Dog-like animals such as wolves and dingos have a more restrictive arm-hand movement, which has their paws fixed at a palm-down position; therefore, showing that their hunting strategy is to pursue a prey in packs rather than by ambush.

But this in not all-encompassing, since cats like the cheetah use speed to catch its meal and dog-like foxes rely on ambushing their prey.

Christine Janis, co-author and professor of biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Brown, says that the thylacine’s hunting method seems to be a unique mix.

“I don’t think there’s anything like it around today. It’s sort of like a cat-like fox.”

After millions of years of existence in Australia, the Tasmanian tiger ended its species with the final thylacine named Benjamin, who died in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania in 1936.

The extinction of the thylacines probably began about 40,000 years ago when humans started to settle in Australia, and the dingo, a small, dog-like creature, was introduced into the environment around 4,000 years ago.

Humans most likely disrupted thylacine habitat and probably even its food sources, but the dingo’s role in the disappearance of the Tasmanian tiger is still debatable, say researchers, since the hunting habits of these two animals are different from one another.

"Dingoes were more like the final straw [to the Tasmanian tigers' demise in continental Australia]," Janis says, "Because they weren't in the same niche. It's not just that a dingo was a placental version of a thylacine."

Eventually, the dingo-free island of Tasmania became the thylacines final living environment, where there was an effort to eradicate the animals in the 19th and 20th centuries.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/2041005/what_exactly_was_the_australian_thylacine/index.html 

See also: Thylacine hunting behavior - A Case of crying wolf

Dingoes Didn't Run Tasmanian Tigers Out of Australia

Though highly similar in their skull anatomy, specialized for a carnivorous diet, the thylacine, front, and the dingo very likely had different hunting styles. Researchers analyzing skeletons of the forelimbs found important differences
CREDIT: Carl Buell

by Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer
Date: 03 May 2011 Time: 07:01 PM ET

The extinct thylacine, more commonly known as the "Tasmanian tiger" or "marsupial wolf," hunted more like a cat than a dog, meaning the tiger moniker may be the more appropriate nickname.

The thylacine had the striped coat of a tiger, the body of a dog and like other marsupials (including kangaroos and opossums) carried its young in a pouch. These carnivores were last seen in Australia 3,000 years ago, having died out after the introduction of dingoes by humans. The last remaining populations were sheltered by their isolation on the island of Tasmania, surviving until the 1900s, when a concentrated eradication effort wiped the thylacine out.

Researchers hypothesized that the dingoes were a main cause of the thylacine decline in Australia, because the two species were in direct competition -- using the same hunting strategies to hunt the same prey. [Top 10 Creatures of Cryptozoology]

"Dingoes are a species of wolves, they are runners," study researcher Borja Figuerido of Brown University said. "If the thylacines are ambushers, the hypothesis of the extinction of the thylacine outcompeted by dingoes is less probable."

Elbow joints connected to...

By looking at the elbow joint bones of the thylacine and 31 other mammals, the researchers noticed they resembled those of cats, which can rotate their paws upward to pounce and attack prey. Dogs and wolves don't have this rotation capability.

"These anatomical characters reveal something about the hunting strategies of the thylacine. They are more ambushers than previously suspected," Figueirido said. "Ambush predators usually manipulate the prey with the forearms, they have very good mobility. Running predators lack this ability, because the elbow is locked."

The limited rotation of their arm bones makes dogs and wolves (including dingoes) faster runners, which changed their hunting behaviors. Dogs and wolves hunt in packs, following their prey over longer distances. The researchers determined that the thylacine was more of a solitary, ambush-style predator, similar to cats.

Mammalian cousins

Marsupial mammals, found mainly in Australia and other areas of the Southern Hemisphere, are similar to placental mammals (such as humans, dogs and cats), but their evolution diverged from ours during the Cretaceous Period, the earliest example of a marsupial appearing about 125 million years ago.

The evolution of these two groups of mammals is an example of convergent evolution, where two separate groups in different locations evolve similar morphologies to deal with similar habitats. The thylacine was thought to be the marsupial equivalent, or ecomorph, of the wolf, with similar body size and eating habits.
Now, Figueirido said, "this designation will need to be revised."

The study was published today (May 3) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biology Letters.


http://www.livescience.com/14006-thylacine-hunting-behavior.html

Searching for the Tasmanian tiger in PNG

By:Joanna Egan | April-8-2011

IN DECEMBER 2010, the AG Society-sponsored adventurer Andrew Hughes headed into the wilderness in an attempt to see if the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine - declared officially extinct in 1986 - continues to persist in any remote pockets (see video below) of Tasmania - and surprisingly, New Guinea.

Read more: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/search-for-the-tasmanian-tiger.htm

VIDEO: Highlights of Andrew Hughes' expedition to track the history of the Tasmanian tiger


(Via Kristin Edwards)

Thylacines vanish from Loch Sport, Victoria

Despite a number of Loch Sport residents and also tourists to the township having claimed sightings of thylacines (Tasmanian Tigers) over the years it appears that the thylacine may have ultimately met its doom and vanished from the area.


During the late 1990s and even through to 2009 thylacine sightings were spasmodically recorded during most months and years. However since early 2009 the sightings have almost dried up to the point where the most recent sighting recorded was on January 30th 2010 in Loch Sport with a prior one recorded on January 17th near Golden Beach. Since then no other evidence has been produced or for that matter sightings been recorded.

Murray McAllister continues in his search for the thylacine and has detailed his efforts onto his website located at: - www.tassietiger.org

“It’s got to the point now where we really have to question the existence of the animal in Loch Sport. Through my research since 1998 I have found that the thylacine is very elusive to the point where we have seen the odd koala and emu here along with our one or two thylacine sightings but now all three species of animal are no longer about!” said Murray.

“One now has to question human impact on the area!” said Murray. “A few years ago (2005) they had a big clean up of the Golf Course, removed a lot of the vegetation and poisoned off the rabbits. Maybe the poisoned rabbits were in turn eaten by the thylacines and they may have suffered a similar fate. The same for the Fox baiting programs have they also had an impact with the thylacines eating the fox baits?

Thylacine sightings used to plentiful at the front of the town near the Golf Course but now with the added “Fuel Reduction Burn Offs” the vegetation and landscape has been altered and the thylacines may have moved on!

“Kangaroos that had been hit by cars during road kill would often be dismembered in that they would quite often be found with their heads missing indicating a thylacine presence, now they remain largely untouched and rarely show signs of any predation. Perhaps the block clearing and house building that continues in Loch Sport also may have restricted thylacine movement in and throughout the township. It certainly isn’t as prevalent as it was almost a decade ago,” said Murray.

“It will be pretty sad if the animal doesn’t return to Loch Sport as it really had proven to be one of the last remaining sanctuaries where people like I held hope that the magnificent thylacine might still survive and re-establish itself as part of our unique Australian wildlife heritage. I’m hoping that people might eventually come forward in the near future to dispel my doubts about the animal no longer being sighted in and around Loch Sport but if we don’t hear anything significant within say the next 12 months we might have to give it up as an animal of the past.

"Even though I’ve had over 20 sightings of the thylacine here, with others also having more than 10 sightings there has certainly been a disturbance to the natural wildlife throughout Loch Sport over recent times and nobody can explain the reasons why this has occurred. The kangaroo and wallaby populations along with bird life are also well down on the observations of the past and we need to investigate what has caused this change in an effort to lure the wildlife back!” said Murray.

“It’s not only just what I believe in but it’s also what makes Loch Sport a unique place to visit and live. If you lose the wildlife then people will not want to come down here. Where else in Australia do you see kangaroos along with the odd thylacine walking down the street?" posed Murray.


Source: The Link

Thylacines vanish from Loch Sport, Victoria

Despite a number of Loch Sport residents and also tourists to the township having claimed sightings of thylacines (Tasmanian Tigers) over the years it appears that the thylacine may have ultimately met its doom and vanished from the area.


During the late 1990s and even through to 2009 thylacine sightings were spasmodically recorded during most months and years. However since early 2009 the sightings have almost dried up to the point where the most recent sighting recorded was on January 30th 2010 in Loch Sport with a prior one recorded on January 17th near Golden Beach. Since then no other evidence has been produced or for that matter sightings been recorded.

Murray McAllister continues in his search for the thylacine and has detailed his efforts onto his website located at: - www.tassietiger.org

“It’s got to the point now where we really have to question the existence of the animal in Loch Sport. Through my research since 1998 I have found that the thylacine is very elusive to the point where we have seen the odd koala and emu here along with our one or two thylacine sightings but now all three species of animal are no longer about!” said Murray.

“One now has to question human impact on the area!” said Murray. “A few years ago (2005) they had a big clean up of the Golf Course, removed a lot of the vegetation and poisoned off the rabbits. Maybe the poisoned rabbits were in turn eaten by the thylacines and they may have suffered a similar fate. The same for the Fox baiting programs have they also had an impact with the thylacines eating the fox baits?

Thylacine sightings used to plentiful at the front of the town near the Golf Course but now with the added “Fuel Reduction Burn Offs” the vegetation and landscape has been altered and the thylacines may have moved on!

“Kangaroos that had been hit by cars during road kill would often be dismembered in that they would quite often be found with their heads missing indicating a thylacine presence, now they remain largely untouched and rarely show signs of any predation. Perhaps the block clearing and house building that continues in Loch Sport also may have restricted thylacine movement in and throughout the township. It certainly isn’t as prevalent as it was almost a decade ago,” said Murray.

“It will be pretty sad if the animal doesn’t return to Loch Sport as it really had proven to be one of the last remaining sanctuaries where people like I held hope that the magnificent thylacine might still survive and re-establish itself as part of our unique Australian wildlife heritage. I’m hoping that people might eventually come forward in the near future to dispel my doubts about the animal no longer being sighted in and around Loch Sport but if we don’t hear anything significant within say the next 12 months we might have to give it up as an animal of the past.

"Even though I’ve had over 20 sightings of the thylacine here, with others also having more than 10 sightings there has certainly been a disturbance to the natural wildlife throughout Loch Sport over recent times and nobody can explain the reasons why this has occurred. The kangaroo and wallaby populations along with bird life are also well down on the observations of the past and we need to investigate what has caused this change in an effort to lure the wildlife back!” said Murray.

“It’s not only just what I believe in but it’s also what makes Loch Sport a unique place to visit and live. If you lose the wildlife then people will not want to come down here. Where else in Australia do you see kangaroos along with the odd thylacine walking down the street?" posed Murray.


Source: The Link

Man Buys Extinct Tasmanian Tiger Pelt for $5 (via Jayne Ayris)

Bill Warren figures to turn a $5 garage sale buy into $70,000 after finding what may be the pelt of an extinct Tasmanian tiger, according to the web site SignOnSanDiego.

The Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was a carnivore that resembled a striped coyote and vanished from its Australian haunt nearly 80 years ago. It was a marsupial (creatures including kangaroos
that carry young in a pouch).

The last wild Tasmanian tiger was killed between 1910 and 1920, and the last captive one died in 1936 at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, Australia. In 1986, the creature was declared extinct. (The DNA of Tasmanian tigers was recently resurrected in mice, interestingly.)

Warren said neither he nor the seller knew what they had. Then he did some Internet research. Most pelts of this creature are in museums so they're rare and, you guessed it, an auction house is now involved.

The tasmanian tiger is not the same thing as the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), a fierce-looking, dog-sized marsupial that's fighting cancer.

Full story at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/03/he-might-have-tiger-pelt/

Man Buys Extinct Tasmanian Tiger Pelt for $5 (via Jayne Ayris)

Bill Warren figures to turn a $5 garage sale buy into $70,000 after finding what may be the pelt of an extinct Tasmanian tiger, according to the web site SignOnSanDiego.

The Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was a carnivore that resembled a striped coyote and vanished from its Australian haunt nearly 80 years ago. It was a marsupial (creatures including kangaroos
that carry young in a pouch).

The last wild Tasmanian tiger was killed between 1910 and 1920, and the last captive one died in 1936 at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, Australia. In 1986, the creature was declared extinct. (The DNA of Tasmanian tigers was recently resurrected in mice, interestingly.)

Warren said neither he nor the seller knew what they had. Then he did some Internet research. Most pelts of this creature are in museums so they're rare and, you guessed it, an auction house is now involved.

The tasmanian tiger is not the same thing as the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), a fierce-looking, dog-sized marsupial that's fighting cancer.

Full story at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/03/he-might-have-tiger-pelt/

True believer records sightings

“Tiger Tiger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?” asked William Blake in his most famous poem.


A local man believes the fabled “Nannup tiger” lurks in the South West forests of the night— and true big cats too.

THYLACINES and big cats still lurk in the South West forests, according to Alan Troode of Nannup.

He collects and collates stories of both big cat and “Nannup tiger” (thylacine) sightings, concentrating on reports from around Nannup .

Alan first became interested in the thylacine when reading newspaper articles published in the early 1980s.

He was intrigued by the thought that the South West forests might harbour such fabulous animals and his interest was reignited when he moved to Nannup in the late 1990s.

Work and family commitments allowed him limited time to pursue the stories but conversations with locals fortified his interest.

He quickly came to the conclusion that he was not only looking at stories and descriptions of the Thylacine but also large predatory cats, not wild feral domestic cats but an animal the size of the mountain lion, cougar or puma , Felis Concolor .

He reckons he has an unbiased point of view when taking down thylacine stories and he soon realised that anything that moved in the bush that was not easily identified was claimed to be the Nannup tiger.

Some incidents contributing to the Nannup tiger legend showed traits and characteristics that Alan can only describe as speculative. Still he came to the conclusion that both the thylacine and Felis Concolor — two distinct predatory animals — roam the South West.

Two distinct animals give rise to two distinct animal hunters, he said. Information about both animals has been diverse, controversial and stories have been at odds with each other at times.

There is very little information about the thylacine and some reported characteristics cloud the issue further.

Reports have the tiger ranging in colour from light yellow to fawn, light brown to dark biscuit and all black — and with or without stripes.

Vocalisations have been described as hissing, coughing, snarling, growling and snapping.

During mating the mysterious beast is said to have a blood-curdling scream.

Often caught in car headlights at night, the blue eyes are believed to be the black tiger and the amber eyes belonging to the yellow chocolate tiger, he said.

Habits such as scratching sticks and dirt over carcases, multiple kills and the size of some animals killed brings into question the weight to kill ratio.

On some occasions the animal is described as being rather inquisitive and in no hurry to move and other reports have the animal taking flight and gone in a flash.

All this conflicting information has led Alan to believe that both the thylacine and Felis Concolor are still at large in the South West.

“I am only starting to scratch the tip of the iceberg so to speak and have a lot of further work to do on correlating both types of sightings,” he said.

“There are sightings of both animals in many areas claiming both tiger and cat occurrences.

“It is my hope to be able to engage believers of both animals in a more comprehensive look at the predatory animals that roam the forests with an open unbiased approach — to give validity and authenticity, to clear up some of the speculation and misinformation.”

Alan believes this can only help to strengthen belief in the presence of both the big cat and the Nannup tiger.

Over the years Alan has logged many reports on sightings of both animals.

He not only records an audio report but he then makes a hard copy which he gets authenticated by having the person reporting the sighting, sign and date.

Alan is a true believer in the existence of both animals in our South West forests.


• If you ever see a strange animal on your travels around the South West, particularly in the Nannup Shire you can contact Alan Troode on 0428 942 142 or email him at alantroode@

live.com.au.

http://www.donnybrookmail.com.au/news/local/news/general/true-believer-records-sightings/1961152.aspx?storypage=0

True believer records sightings

“Tiger Tiger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?” asked William Blake in his most famous poem.


A local man believes the fabled “Nannup tiger” lurks in the South West forests of the night— and true big cats too.

THYLACINES and big cats still lurk in the South West forests, according to Alan Troode of Nannup.

He collects and collates stories of both big cat and “Nannup tiger” (thylacine) sightings, concentrating on reports from around Nannup .

Alan first became interested in the thylacine when reading newspaper articles published in the early 1980s.

He was intrigued by the thought that the South West forests might harbour such fabulous animals and his interest was reignited when he moved to Nannup in the late 1990s.

Work and family commitments allowed him limited time to pursue the stories but conversations with locals fortified his interest.

He quickly came to the conclusion that he was not only looking at stories and descriptions of the Thylacine but also large predatory cats, not wild feral domestic cats but an animal the size of the mountain lion, cougar or puma , Felis Concolor .

He reckons he has an unbiased point of view when taking down thylacine stories and he soon realised that anything that moved in the bush that was not easily identified was claimed to be the Nannup tiger.

Some incidents contributing to the Nannup tiger legend showed traits and characteristics that Alan can only describe as speculative. Still he came to the conclusion that both the thylacine and Felis Concolor — two distinct predatory animals — roam the South West.

Two distinct animals give rise to two distinct animal hunters, he said. Information about both animals has been diverse, controversial and stories have been at odds with each other at times.

There is very little information about the thylacine and some reported characteristics cloud the issue further.

Reports have the tiger ranging in colour from light yellow to fawn, light brown to dark biscuit and all black — and with or without stripes.

Vocalisations have been described as hissing, coughing, snarling, growling and snapping.

During mating the mysterious beast is said to have a blood-curdling scream.

Often caught in car headlights at night, the blue eyes are believed to be the black tiger and the amber eyes belonging to the yellow chocolate tiger, he said.

Habits such as scratching sticks and dirt over carcases, multiple kills and the size of some animals killed brings into question the weight to kill ratio.

On some occasions the animal is described as being rather inquisitive and in no hurry to move and other reports have the animal taking flight and gone in a flash.

All this conflicting information has led Alan to believe that both the thylacine and Felis Concolor are still at large in the South West.

“I am only starting to scratch the tip of the iceberg so to speak and have a lot of further work to do on correlating both types of sightings,” he said.

“There are sightings of both animals in many areas claiming both tiger and cat occurrences.

“It is my hope to be able to engage believers of both animals in a more comprehensive look at the predatory animals that roam the forests with an open unbiased approach — to give validity and authenticity, to clear up some of the speculation and misinformation.”

Alan believes this can only help to strengthen belief in the presence of both the big cat and the Nannup tiger.

Over the years Alan has logged many reports on sightings of both animals.

He not only records an audio report but he then makes a hard copy which he gets authenticated by having the person reporting the sighting, sign and date.

Alan is a true believer in the existence of both animals in our South West forests.


• If you ever see a strange animal on your travels around the South West, particularly in the Nannup Shire you can contact Alan Troode on 0428 942 142 or email him at alantroode@

live.com.au.

http://www.donnybrookmail.com.au/news/local/news/general/true-believer-records-sightings/1961152.aspx?storypage=0

A Third of ‘Extinct’ Mammals May Still Be Alive

By Brian Switek
September 29, 2010

There may be many more “extinct” mammals waiting to be rediscovered than conservation biologists previously thought.

Categorizing a mammal species as extinct has rested upon two criteria: It has not been seen for more than 50 years, or an exhaustive search has come up empty. But “extinct” species occasionally turn up again, and some species have disappeared more than once. Australia’s desert rat kangaroo, for example, was rediscovered in 1931 after having gone missing for almost a century, only to disappear again in 1935 when invasive red foxes moved into the area of the remaining survivors.

In order to determine how often extinct species had been rediscovered, University of Queensland scientists Diana Fisher and Simon Blomberg created a dataset of 187 mammal species that have been reported extinct, extinct in the wild, or probably extinct since 1500, as well as those which have been rediscovered. They also looked at historical data on the threats that caused species to become extinct — or brought them close to it — including habitat loss, introduced species and overkill by humans.

It turns out that rumors of the extinction of more than a third of these species have turned out to be premature, the scientists report in Proceedings of the Royal Society B Sept. 29. At least 67 species — a little more than a third of those presumed to be extinct — were later found again. And in most cases, these were animals that had been hardest hit by habitat loss.

Humans and invasive species have been significantly more efficient killers. It’s rare that a species reported extinct due to one of these causes has been seen again.

“If you think that a missing species is extinct and the main cause of decline was introduced predators such as feral foxes, cats or rats, then you are very likely to be right,” Fisher said. But, she added, “If the main cause of decline was habitat loss, you are quite likely to be wrong if you say that it’s extinct, unless it was restricted to a very small area.”

As an example, Fisher cites the Malabar civet, which was thought to be extinct due to habitat loss in 1929 but survived in marginal areas at least until 1987 when it was last seen on a cashew plantation. Unfortunately, that animal was killed by villagers, and no more have been seen since.

The team found species that were relatively sparsely distributed over a larger range were more likely to turn up again. But mammals of any particular evolutionary group or body size weren’t more likely to be rediscovered.

“I was a little bit surprised that body size was not important,” Fisher said. “I thought that small species might not be found so often, because they don’t attract much attention, but that wasn’t the case.”

With these findings in hand, conservation biologists may be better able to target species that are more likely to still be out there somewhere. While species hunted into extinction — such as the Stellar’s sea cow — are almost certainly gone forever, individuals of other species may still exist. Whether we find them again or not seems to be directly influenced by how hard we look.

According to Fisher and Blomberg, one or two searches for a missing species aren’t likely to succeed, but missing species that were the subject of three to six searches have often been rediscovered. Chances do not continue to get better past this point, though. Species that have been the subject of more than 11 searches, such as the Tasmanian tiger  and the Yangtze dolphin, have not been found.

We may hope for the rediscovery of such charismatic species, but the chances of finding some of the lesser-known species that haven’t been looked for yet are significantly better. Among the good candidates for rediscovery Fisher lists are the Montane monkey-faced bat of the Solomon Islands, last seen on Guadalcanal in 1990, and Alcom’s pocket gopher, which was abundant in a high-elevation forest in Mexico in the late 1990’s but hasn’t been seen since.

“We should be trying to protect the habitat of recently extinct species,” Fisher said. “But this is not easy, because we don’t know where they might be rediscovered. It is not necessarily near where the species was last seen.”

Gilbert’s potoroo, for example, disappeared sometime around 1879 but was rediscovered in 1994 at Two People’s Bay in Australia in a reserve that had been set up to protect an endangered bird. Because many rediscovered species had populations that were spread over a wide area, ecologists have a lot of ground to cover in their search for “extinct” mammals. 

Images: 1) Desert rat kangaroo. John Gould/Wikimedia Commons. 2) Tasmanian tiger. Smithsonian Institution/Wikimedia Commons. 3) Gilbert’s potoroo. John Gould/Wikimedia Commons.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/a-third-of-extinct-mammals-may-still-be-alive/#ixzz11g8oHt8h

A Third of ‘Extinct’ Mammals May Still Be Alive

By Brian Switek
September 29, 2010

There may be many more “extinct” mammals waiting to be rediscovered than conservation biologists previously thought.

Categorizing a mammal species as extinct has rested upon two criteria: It has not been seen for more than 50 years, or an exhaustive search has come up empty. But “extinct” species occasionally turn up again, and some species have disappeared more than once. Australia’s desert rat kangaroo, for example, was rediscovered in 1931 after having gone missing for almost a century, only to disappear again in 1935 when invasive red foxes moved into the area of the remaining survivors.

In order to determine how often extinct species had been rediscovered, University of Queensland scientists Diana Fisher and Simon Blomberg created a dataset of 187 mammal species that have been reported extinct, extinct in the wild, or probably extinct since 1500, as well as those which have been rediscovered. They also looked at historical data on the threats that caused species to become extinct — or brought them close to it — including habitat loss, introduced species and overkill by humans.

It turns out that rumors of the extinction of more than a third of these species have turned out to be premature, the scientists report in Proceedings of the Royal Society B Sept. 29. At least 67 species — a little more than a third of those presumed to be extinct — were later found again. And in most cases, these were animals that had been hardest hit by habitat loss.

Humans and invasive species have been significantly more efficient killers. It’s rare that a species reported extinct due to one of these causes has been seen again.

“If you think that a missing species is extinct and the main cause of decline was introduced predators such as feral foxes, cats or rats, then you are very likely to be right,” Fisher said. But, she added, “If the main cause of decline was habitat loss, you are quite likely to be wrong if you say that it’s extinct, unless it was restricted to a very small area.”

As an example, Fisher cites the Malabar civet, which was thought to be extinct due to habitat loss in 1929 but survived in marginal areas at least until 1987 when it was last seen on a cashew plantation. Unfortunately, that animal was killed by villagers, and no more have been seen since.

The team found species that were relatively sparsely distributed over a larger range were more likely to turn up again. But mammals of any particular evolutionary group or body size weren’t more likely to be rediscovered.

“I was a little bit surprised that body size was not important,” Fisher said. “I thought that small species might not be found so often, because they don’t attract much attention, but that wasn’t the case.”

With these findings in hand, conservation biologists may be better able to target species that are more likely to still be out there somewhere. While species hunted into extinction — such as the Stellar’s sea cow — are almost certainly gone forever, individuals of other species may still exist. Whether we find them again or not seems to be directly influenced by how hard we look.

According to Fisher and Blomberg, one or two searches for a missing species aren’t likely to succeed, but missing species that were the subject of three to six searches have often been rediscovered. Chances do not continue to get better past this point, though. Species that have been the subject of more than 11 searches, such as the Tasmanian tiger  and the Yangtze dolphin, have not been found.

We may hope for the rediscovery of such charismatic species, but the chances of finding some of the lesser-known species that haven’t been looked for yet are significantly better. Among the good candidates for rediscovery Fisher lists are the Montane monkey-faced bat of the Solomon Islands, last seen on Guadalcanal in 1990, and Alcom’s pocket gopher, which was abundant in a high-elevation forest in Mexico in the late 1990’s but hasn’t been seen since.

“We should be trying to protect the habitat of recently extinct species,” Fisher said. “But this is not easy, because we don’t know where they might be rediscovered. It is not necessarily near where the species was last seen.”

Gilbert’s potoroo, for example, disappeared sometime around 1879 but was rediscovered in 1994 at Two People’s Bay in Australia in a reserve that had been set up to protect an endangered bird. Because many rediscovered species had populations that were spread over a wide area, ecologists have a lot of ground to cover in their search for “extinct” mammals. 

Images: 1) Desert rat kangaroo. John Gould/Wikimedia Commons. 2) Tasmanian tiger. Smithsonian Institution/Wikimedia Commons. 3) Gilbert’s potoroo. John Gould/Wikimedia Commons.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/a-third-of-extinct-mammals-may-still-be-alive/#ixzz11g8oHt8h