'Extinct' Tasmanian tiger might have fooled the world

27 March 2017 - 10:27 By ©The Daily Telegraph
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Image: ©The Daily Telegraph

Scientists in northern Australia are preparing to hunt for the Tasmanian tiger following a series of "sightings" of the species, which was declared extinct when what was believed to be the last one died in a zoo in 1936.

The scientists plan to set up more than 50 camera traps to try to spot the so-called tiger, actually a thylacine, in Cape York, a peninsula in the country's north-east corner.

There have been two apparently credible sightings in the region, including one by Brian Hobbs, a former tourism operator who said this month that he had spotted a family of the animals in 1983.

Patrick Shears, a former ranger who also claims to have seen a tiger, said local Aborigines reported regularly spotting the creature.

"They call it 'the moonlight tiger' . If you're not making a noise they'll come and check you out."

The Tasmanian tiger, a carnivorous marsupial, disappeared after the arrival of British settlers, who regarded it as a threat to their sheep.

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now