Popular Post oldrover Posted March 24, 2017 Popular Post #1 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Tasmanian tiger 'sightings' spark spark scientific study on Queensland's Cape York Penninsula Far North Queensland researchers will launch a scientific study into the existence of Tasmanian tigers on Cape York following a series of historical sightings being reported. James Cook University scientists Professor Bill Laurance and Dr Sandra Abell will use more than 50 camera traps to survey sites where thylacines are believed to have been spotted. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-24/tasmanian-tiger-sightings-spark-scientific-study/8383884 The two cited in this seem like the real thing, https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/bill.laurance and https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/sandPenninsula I can't see it myself, but then I know nothing about the history of sightings in that area. Cape York is large and remote, but is it large and wild enough to have hidden an unclassified species? Especially one that's a mid sized predator? It used to be thought that it did, in the old text books there was the Queensland tiger cat, a similar sized species of predator which was nver represented by a specimen, but which was once taken quite seriously. I remain absolutely pessimistic. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJNYC Posted March 24, 2017 #2 Share Posted March 24, 2017 This is important and exciting! Can't wait to hear about what they find. Just hoping that if they do find Tasmanians that they leave them alone and not try to capture them. Keep them safe, but let them live their lives. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted March 25, 2017 #3 Share Posted March 25, 2017 I hope they do find and then protect the species, especially since it was exterminated by humans, largely for no reason, or at least being misunderstood. Historically it had a much larger range. I am not certain of the human population of N. Queensland but from what I have heard it's a pretty inhospitable place for humans, so you never know. I know there have been recent discoveries of new plant species from there, of course that is different from large animals, but it shows it is not a completely explored area. Unfortunately, you have to have a certain amount of genetic diversity for any animals species to survive, so a mere handful of survivors does not bode will for long term viability in a species. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Walker Posted March 25, 2017 #4 Share Posted March 25, 2017 (edited) 9 hours ago, MJNYC said: Just hoping that if they do find Tasmanians that they leave them alone and not try to capture them. Keep them safe, but let them live their lives. If they find any Tasmanians they should round 'em up and deport them to whence they came... Queensland is already weird enough... Edited March 25, 2017 by Night Walker 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted March 25, 2017 Author #5 Share Posted March 25, 2017 I think this is unlikely to be a genuine search for thylacine, so much as a general survey of the area's wildlife. Tagging the thylacine onto such searches isn't an unknown thing to do, about three or four years ago an expedition to New Guinea did the same thing, it was never they're real attention to find a tiger, but they used the name to frame the work they were doing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted March 25, 2017 Author #6 Share Posted March 25, 2017 12 hours ago, Sundew said: I hope they do find and then protect the species, especially since it was exterminated by humans, largely for no reason, or at least being misunderstood. Historically it had a much larger range. I am not certain of the human population of N. Queensland but from what I have heard it's a pretty inhospitable place for humans, so you never know. I know there have been recent discoveries of new plant species from there, of course that is different from large animals, but it shows it is not a completely explored area. Unfortunately, you have to have a certain amount of genetic diversity for any animals species to survive, so a mere handful of survivors does not bode will for long term viability in a species. Exactly, a long relict population remaining confined in a restricted area sounds more cryptozoology than zoology. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cryptid_Control Posted March 26, 2017 #7 Share Posted March 26, 2017 You're probably right oldrover but it's still going to be an interesting search nonetheless, it seems like they're going to be using some good surveillance so I really hope they find something! It might be a lost hope but it's one animal I've always had a love for. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted March 26, 2017 Author #8 Share Posted March 26, 2017 7 hours ago, Cryptid_Control said: You're probably right oldrover but it's still going to be an interesting search nonetheless, it seems like they're going to be using some good surveillance so I really hope they find something! It might be a lost hope but it's one animal I've always had a love for. I know what you mean. Personally, I can't imagine it, but there are lot who still hope. Just yesterday I read a Q&A session with two leading researchers, one was more cautious but the other was openly refusing to use the term extinct. But then the evidence he was sighting was old and debunked, so I'm not sure what the hell was going on there. There's other private opinion from well placed people who extend the extinction date by around sixty years at least. I can't see it myself though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skliss Posted March 26, 2017 #9 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Josh Gates did a show on this. There were some interesting pics from a trail camera on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted March 26, 2017 Author #10 Share Posted March 26, 2017 31 minutes ago, skliss said: Josh Gates did a show on this. There were some interesting pics from a trail camera on it. They were from a man called Andrew something, he's got a bit of a name I'm afraid. At one point he was phoning around Tasmanian radio stations claiming he was under death threats to keep quiet, then he appears on Expedition Unkown. The photos are also well known, none show anything unexplained. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skliss Posted March 26, 2017 #11 Share Posted March 26, 2017 I meant the guy at the end of the show, if I remember right he's some kind of naturalist. They went together and picked up the trail cams so it wasn't old shopped around videos, it was brand spanking new while Josh was standing there with the guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted March 26, 2017 Author #12 Share Posted March 26, 2017 13 minutes ago, skliss said: I meant the guy at the end of the show, if I remember right he's some kind of naturalist. They went together and picked up the trail cams so it wasn't old shopped around videos, it was brand spanking new while Josh was standing there with the guy. You mean Michael Moss? That's a quoll that they seem to get so excited about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skliss Posted March 27, 2017 #13 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Sorry, I just remember the find while they were going thru the field cams and that the was working currently to get evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted March 27, 2017 Author #14 Share Posted March 27, 2017 32 minutes ago, skliss said: Sorry, I just remember the find while they were going thru the field cams and that the was working currently to get evidence. No worries. The trail cam part was with Michael Moss, they see a couple of animals, I think a rat and a wombat? Then they both go wild over an animal which is clearly a quoll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted March 31, 2017 #15 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I wish them good luck. At the very least, perhaps the cameras will provide data on local wildlife populations and health. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted March 31, 2017 Author #16 Share Posted March 31, 2017 42 minutes ago, DieChecker said: I wish them good luck. At the very least, perhaps the cameras will provide data on local wildlife populations and health. Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taniwha Posted March 31, 2017 #17 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Keeping the dream alive I see. No doubt whoever finds the last of the thylacines becomes an instant celebrity and everything that goes with it. If a handsome reward was offered for it's safe capture, maybe more people would be looking. I would say time is of the essence, if they aren't completely extinct by now the clock is winding down fast. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted March 31, 2017 Author #18 Share Posted March 31, 2017 There have been rewards offered for a thylacine since the thirties. Walt Disney offered a reward, Ted Turner of Turner Classic Movies (TCM Channel) and husband of Jane Fonda offered $100,000 back in the early 80's, and some magazine offered $1,000,000 back in the 90's. Those are a few. Back in the thirties during the depression the incentive was even more stark. Still no thylacines. You can't catch what isn't there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Walker Posted March 31, 2017 #19 Share Posted March 31, 2017 10 hours ago, oldrover said: You can't catch what isn't there. True. Yet, we are all capable of seeing what isn't there. That's the real issue, I suppose -- many subjective sightings (experiences) but the supporting objective evidence is lacking... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted April 1, 2017 Author #20 Share Posted April 1, 2017 56 minutes ago, Night Walker said: True. Yet, we are all capable of seeing what isn't there. That's the real issue, I suppose -- many subjective sightings (experiences) but the supporting objective evidence is lacking... Yeah, that's the reality. Not what any of would want, but what we're stuck with. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted April 1, 2017 #21 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Well, researchers discovered the New Guinea mountain (singing?) dog after 50 years of supposed extinction, so who knows if a small population might still exist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Walker Posted April 1, 2017 #22 Share Posted April 1, 2017 13 hours ago, oldrover said: Yeah, that's the reality. Not what any of would want, but what we're stuck with. It is what it is yet what it is has yet to be adequately described. How does it work? What are the mechanisms? What are the triggers? Can the experience be duplicated? Etc… We cryptozoological hobbyists may not be on the verge of any great zoological discoveries any time soon but that doesn’t mean there are no discoveries to be had… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted April 1, 2017 Author #23 Share Posted April 1, 2017 15 minutes ago, Night Walker said: It is what it is yet what it is has yet to be adequately described. How does it work? What are the mechanisms? What are the triggers? Can the experience be duplicated? Etc… We cryptozoological hobbyists may not be on the verge of any great zoological discoveries any time soon but that doesn’t mean there are no discoveries to be had… That's also very true. Cryptozoology is a really interesting area. Nit because of the animals it discusses so much as the way it duscusses them. And probably because there's a discussion of any sort in the first place. It's obvious that these animals don't exist, yet hundreds of people see scores of different weird and wonderful creatures aacross the world every year, and other people believe them. Why? There are probably as many reasons for that as there are cryptids. Main point I think is that cryptozoology has changed massively over the last 50 years or so. In the old days it was mostly dependant on a few winesses telling stories of encounters they'd had a long way off in distant parts of the world, things like tye yeti, the nandi bear etc. These days the audience and the witnesses are one and the same crowd since the popularity off home grown cryptids like bigfoot and the thylacine have steadily taken over. People see what they read about, take the thylacine, I've read hundreds of sightings and only two have described the colour correctly. Thylacines were nothing like the colour you see in the reconstructions, yet that's what peopple report. The idea that they walked with a stiff sort of awkward gait has got into the public imagination, it's refuted by the evidence, yet still this is what people claim to have seen. Peopie are easily led and want to have a story to tell. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cryptid_Control Posted April 3, 2017 #24 Share Posted April 3, 2017 A bit late back at the reply but always have hope! If you look it up, the eastern cougar was declared extinct, but I've had the pleasure along with many others I know of seeing them in the wild. Ask a biologist and they'll refute it but it's common knowledge among hunters here that there's still a decent population hiding out there. Though that does make me wonder why they put research into thylacine which has a rocky history, as opposed to things like the eastern cougar, maybe we could prevent their eventual true extinction. But over all, having first hand experience finding an "extinct" animal gives me that extra push to believe there may still be something out there. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrover Posted April 3, 2017 Author #25 Share Posted April 3, 2017 3 hours ago, Cryptid_Control said: A bit late back at the reply but always have hope! If you look it up, the eastern cougar was declared extinct, but I've had the pleasure along with many others I know of seeing them in the wild. Ask a biologist and they'll refute it but it's common knowledge among hunters here that there's still a decent population hiding out there. Though that does make me wonder why they put research into thylacine which has a rocky history, as opposed to things like the eastern cougar, maybe we could prevent their eventual true extinction. But over all, having first hand experience finding an "extinct" animal gives me that extra push to believe there may still be something out there. The status eastern cougar as I understand it is considered 'data deficient' in Canada, as opposed to extinct in the eastern U.S. In any event, there are definitely pumas living in the Americas today. Here in Wales we also have a similar situation with the pine marten, smallish animal, but then a very small area to hide. Every thirty or forty years we get a specimen turning up stuck to the tarmac. It's very strange. Thylacines are a different matter, there's no known population anywhere, the last being between about 70-80 years ago. Plus, what a lot of people overlook or aren't aware of is the circumstances under which that population disappeared. It's not just that they got scarce and then seemed to disappear, they went in a particularly suggestive pattern. There were a few desperate attempts made by people who knew the species to try and save it, all to no avail. I'm not sure what the idea is behind the James Cook team, and their bringing the thylacine into their search, but it seems very unlikely that it's actually to do with the tiger. The sightings they've referred to are very old, and very poor quality. I don't get it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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