Any mammalologists or zoologists, I have a question about the thylacine.?

Question

As we know, the thylacine is so called, "Extinct." However, I do not beleive that very much. Is there any possible way that the thylacine would still be alive today? Where could they still be? is there any proof that these magnificent animals are still alive somewhere in the world? Please give reasoning to my question, thank you.

Answer 1

This site has been the most interesting. http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/n...

I especially like the analysis on the gait of the filmed animal. I certainly think, given the number of sightings on the mainland that there could be a remenant population.

Answer 2

The last Thylacine died in the Hobart zoo in 1936. Since then, there have been over 4000 sightings. I know it sounds like a lot, but I'm betting there have been more sightings of Elvis since he died. Just because you want to believe something doesn't make it true.

Having said that, there are theories that Thylacines never became extinct on certain parts of the mainland. An area near the South Australian/Victoria border has been suggested as Thylacine territory. There are parts of Gippsland where Thylacines have been seen repeatedly since 1936. One suggestion is that as part of the "naturalisation" tendency in the Victorian era, Thylacine colonies were set up in areas outside of Tasmania, just as other animals and plants were spread about the world. A kind of homogenisation of wildlife.

I have to admit that even I have seen Something. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was, but I know it wasn't a cat or a dog and it had stripes. Spotted it just on dusk, here in my semi-rural suburb.

But can they still be alive? There isn't a single clear photo. There isn't one definitive footprint. There are no fresh collections of scats. Not one body has been found. This complete lack of physical evidence makes it very hard to believe that they might still be around.

Go to Amazon.com and search for author Robert Paddle. His book on Thylacines is brilliant and well worth having.

I hope they are not gone forever, too.

Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe.

Answer 3

There have been many searches for this animal and no proof of it's existence have been found.  You should pick up a book about one of the  recent searches for this animal called "Carnivorous nights".  It also tells about scientists that want to bring back the Thylacine by cloning it.

http://www.carnivorousnights.com/

Answer 4

There a possibilty that they are still alive.Although the Thylacine is formally extinct, many people believe the animal still exists. Sightings are regularly claimed in Tasmania, other parts of Australia and even in the Western New Guinea area of Indonesia, near the Papua New Guinea border. The Australian Rare Fauna Research Association reports having 3,800 sightings on file from mainland Australia since the 1936 extinction date,[52] while the Mystery Animal Research Centre of Australia recorded 138 up to 1998, and the Department of Conservation and Land Management recorded 65 in Western Australia over the same period.Independent Thylacine researchers Buck and Joan Emburg of Tasmania report 360 Tasmanian and 269 mainland post-extinction 20th century sightings, figures compiled from a number of sources. On the mainland, sightings are most frequently reported in Southern Victoria.[An artist's depiction of two Thylacines from 1883.Sightings of the Red Fox (first introduced as early as 1864 and again in around 2000)in Tasmania are taken very seriously, despite only minimal evidence of the presence of the species on the island.h While the Fox Free Tasmanian Taskforce receives government funding, there is no longer any funding for searches for the Thylacine. The difficulty of locating foxes in the Tasmanian wilderness points to some chance of the Thylacine's survival away from human contact. Despite many sightings being instantly dismissed, some have generated a large amount of publicity. In 1982 a researcher with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, Hans Naarding, observed what he believed to be a Thylacine for three minutes during the night at a site near Arthur River in the north west of the state. The sighting led to an extensive year-long government-funded search. In January 1995, a Parks and Wildlife officer reported observing a Thylacine in the Pyengana region of North Eastern Tasmania in the early hours of the morning. Later searches revealed no trace of the animal.[60] In 1997, it was reported that locals and missionaries near Mount Carstensz in Western New Guinea someone had sighted Thylacines. The locals had apparently known about them for many years but had not made an official report.[61] In February 2005 Klaus Emmerichs, a German tourist, claimed to have taken digital photographs of a Thylacine he saw near the Lake St Clair National Park, but the authenticity of the photographs has not been established The photos were not published until April 2006, fourteen months after the sighting. The photographs, which showed only the back of the animal, were said, by those who studied them, to be inconclusive as evidence of the Thylacine's continued existence.

Answer 5

In addition to the above, Melbourne and Texas Universities still have Thylacine DNA which could possibly be used to start a group.

Answer 6

It is very possible that an animal thought to be extincted is still alive.I once read a book called crypid hunters that made that very clear.I mean look at the Congo.It has only been mapped by satellite but never by human,well humans have been there but mostly people that wouldn't know that these animals were thought to be extincted or people that didn't make it out alive...oh and people that study animals that may or may not be alive are called cryptozoologists.I really recommend reading cryptid hunters.It is a very good book that I read three or four times.