Has the Tasmanian Tiger been extinct or is it still alive in Australia?

In Australia, the confusion surrounding the animal that was the main predator of the country persists. While scientists have declared the Tasmanian tiger, also called tilacino, extinct more than 80 years ago, several people claimed to have seen it.

A recent report from the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Ocean Nation Environment has revived the imagination of the fact that the marsupial still exists. The text contains the statements of many people, including farmers, walkers, locals and tourists, who claim to have seen the striped carnivore between September 2016 and the same month of 2019. That is to say a few days ago. According to the government agency, he has received eight separate reports on the observation of the specimen, some with puppies, often at dusk or at dawn in the north and west of the country.

The ABCNews TV channel revealed that in February 2018, a couple of tourists from western Australia, who were crossing Corinna on the northwestern coast of Tasmania, said they had met the creature while he was walking in front of his rental car on the road They had before them. "He went back and looked at the vehicle a few times. He was in sight for 12 to 15 seconds, he had stripes on his back. He was calm and did not act at all scared, "they said. In turn, they said they were "100% sure that the animal they saw was a tilacin".

That same month, a group of cyclists traveling on the Lyell Highway in downtown Tasmania claimed to have their own meeting. "It was a hazy and cloudy day, I saw in the distance what I called a great feline creature," said one of the protagonists. In April 2017, another motorist claimed that a feline creature had crossed the road in front of her vehicle while she was traveling 100 kilometers to the hour on the Murchison Road.

In counterpoint, a State Department spokesman confirmed that, despite reports, the species is presumed extinct. "There has been no confirmed sighting of tilacin in Tasmania for more than 50 years. From time to time, we receive reports of sightings and, although it is recorded, there is no evidence that tilacin still exists, "said the official, who was supported by the scientific community.