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'Sightings' of Extinct Tasmanian Tiger Prompt Search in Queensland (theguardian.com)
Elle Hunt, writing for The Guardian: "Plausible" possible sightings of a Tasmanian tiger in northern Queensland have prompted scientists to undertake a search for the species thought to have died out more than 80 years ago. The last thylacine is thought to have died in Hobart zoo in 1936, and it is widely believed to have become extinct on mainland Australia at least 2,000 years ago. But sightings of large, dog-like animals that are neither dingoes nor foxes have persisted over the decades, despite widespread scepticism. Recent eyewitness accounts of potential thylacines in far north Queensland have spurred scientists from James Cook University to launch a search for the animal long considered extinct. Professor Bill Laurance said he had spoken at length to two people about animals they had seen in Cape York peninsula that could potentially be thylacines, and that they had given plausible and detailed descriptions.
"'Sightings' of Extinct Tasmanian Tiger Prompt Search in Queensland "
Shouldn't that be: Sightings of "Extinct" Tasmanian Tiger Prompt Search in Queensland ?
Let's get Willem Dafoe on this straight away! (obscure movie ref?)
Good, that means he's done with the Brolita look. Not his thing.
Table-ized A.I.
If this thing is spinning around, making growling sounds vaguely like Mel Blanc.....it might just be a Tasmanian Devil ....and would best be left alone, they'll eat ANYTHING, including wabbits......
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Since there's not a lot to this story, I'll go ahead on a tangent and recommend a book called "Song of the Dodo." It's an excellent book about extinction (and evolution, and biological diversity). There's a section in it about the thylacine.
Highly recommended, definitely up there on my list of science books.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
The article doesn't mention it, but the Tasmanian Tiger is a marsupial. It is essentially a dog (wolf) that carries its young in a pouch. Most mammals in Australia were marsupials but many became extinct after the Australian Aborigines discovered the continent.
Marsupials evolved pouches to deal with the extreme climate and unreliable vegetation in Australia. A mother will remove and discard her young if the available food is not sufficient for both. Pregnant mammals with long gestation cycles don't have that luxury...
I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
It's okay to be skeptical, but outright cynicism can leave you looking like an idiot.
Consider that:
1. Vietnam people said for years there was a big deer that only lived deep in the jungle, but scientists kept saying "no there's not, we're smart and we looked"
2. Border Mexico people said for years that there was Jaguars roaming in the US/Mexico border region, but scientists kept saying "no there's not, we're smart and we looked"
3. People said for the last several hundred years that octopi can come out of the water and attack prey, but scientists said "no they don't, we're smart and we looked"
A lot of local yokel animal stories turn out to be BS, but a few have not.