Tasmanian tigers, or thylacines, are running wild in parkland 25 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD, according to at least 20 sightings reported to the Victorian government. Freedom of Information (FoI) requests revealed 63 possible sightings of Tasmanian tigers and big cats in Victoria, including a Parks Victoria report into multiple tiger sightings in the Warrandyte State Park, in Melbourne's north-east. Other repeat sightings of Tasmanian tigers, panthers and pumas since the early 1990s centred around Wilsons Promontory National Park, in the south-east, and the Grampians range, in the west. Melbourne researcher Michael Moss, who made the FoI requests to the Department of Sustainability and Environment and Parks Victoria, said the government was ignoring strong anecdotal evidence the Tasmanian tiger was alive and breeding in Victoria. The last known Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, died in captivity in Hobart in 1936. It is believed to have been extinct on the Australian mainland for 2,000 years.

But Mr Moss said several recent sightings were made by credible witnesses, who gave detailed descriptions of the striped marsupial. Mr Moss said many more reported sightings were ignored by sceptical park rangers and never officially recorded. "If this was in Tasmania there would be the biggest hunt on ever - but because it was in Victoria no one takes it seriously," he said. "I think every bushwalker down on the promontory and in the Grampians has a right to know these animals might be there."

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It is entirely possible that there are Big cats living in those areas . Vast patches of these mountain rangers are virtually unpassable and rarely visited . The Tasmanian tiger I find that one a little harder to believe . Basically because I had never heard of main land sightings before now .

I still think that maybe the Big Cats are responsible for the disapearnces at hanging rock ....

I know someone who claims to have seen a Tasmanian Tiger on the Mainland. It was sighted near Coorparoo in Queensland (outskirts of brissy). They even reported it to the police who laughed the whole thing off of coarse. My father saw it 20 years ago.

Oracle do you think that these sightings could become more common If more people felt comfortable confessing to them . Perhaps people have been incapable of owning up to a sighting because they worry about being ridiculed..

BTW Did your father tell anyone else like the Zoo or conservation department ? just a question I'm genuinelly interested ?

Kismit, he contacted the Qld Museum and recieved the same treatment he got from the police. I do think that a lot sightings don't get reported for this very reason. I know a lot of sightings are probably BS but I believe there could be some genuine ones mixed in with them.

the story of the last one dying in captivity is so sad. i hate to see a species of animals die out. hopefully, there are a few out there away from the interference of men that are thriving.

It's hard to imagine we'd not come across them, if they are out there, in all the years that have passed since they "apparently" became extinct.

Could it have been a dingo of sorts?

I used to live in Tasmania 20 years ago and we used to see the Tassie Devils quite often, I do hope their numbers aren't dwindling.

If anyone knows otherwise, I'd be interested to hear.

Clone it!!! opps sorry getting carried away with all the cloning threads.
There are huge patches of Victoria that would be the ideal habitat for the Tasmanian Tiger, they could have been bought to the main land years ago as pets or for they're skins and simply escaped.