It's been more than 80 years since the last Tasmanian tiger was seen alive. The last known animal is thought to have died in a zoo in Hobart, Tasmania in 1936.
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But now,?a series of ¡°sightings¡±?in the?Far North Queensland has prompted scientists to start a hunt for the extinct predator. ?According to reports, Brian Hobbs, a former tourism operator a former tourism operator allegedly caught the sight of animal and immediately notified experts about it.
Researchers from ?James Cook University have now launched a search for the animal long considered extinct.
A model of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger/ Reuters
Reports suggest that in the project set to kickstart next month, a team of experts will install 50 camera traps to try to spot a so-called tiger, in Cape York, a peninsula in the country¡¯s north-east corner.
Sandra Abell, a researcher with James Cook University, told the Guardian that more reported sightings came in after the news was made public.?
"It is a low possibility that we¡¯ll find thylacines, but we¡¯ll certainly get lots of data on the predators in the area and that will help our studies in general," ?the Guardian quoted her.?
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"It¡¯s not a mythical creature. A lot of the descriptions people give, it¡¯s not a glimpse in the car headlights. People who say they¡¯ve actually seen them can describe them in great detail, so it¡¯s hard to say they¡¯ve seen anything else."
Intrigued by this news, prominent atheist and scientist Richard Dawkins, tweeted saying, "Can it be true? Has Thylacinus been seen alive? And in mainland Australia, not Tasmania? I so want it to be true.¡±
The answer to which, only time and research will tell.?