Extinct Tasmanian tiger may have lived into the 2000s, study of more than 1,200 ... trends now
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The Tasmanian tiger could have survived in the wild for decades longer than thought, potentially into the early 2000s, and there is a 'very small' chance it still exists, a study suggests.
Researchers at the University of Tasmania analysed more than 1,200 unique reported observational records from 1910 onwards and mapped the marsupial's decline.
The last thylacine in captivity perished at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart in 1936, just months after the species had been granted protected status.
Researchers assigned a probability to each reported thylacine observation and then analysed the data as a whole.
They found the species' distribution shrank rapidly after bounties were provided for their skins from 1888 to 1909.
Researchers at the University of Tasmania analysed more than 1,200 sightings of the Tasmanian tiger (pictured) and have determined the species may have lived into the 1980s
The last thylacine in captivity died at Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart in 1936, just months after the species had been granted protected status (pictured,
