It’s not exactly Bigfoot, but a Tasmanian tiger sighting is still pretty incredible. The animal was thought to have gone extinct over 80 years ago, but according to new Australian government documents, it was reportedly spotted just a few months ago. The released document from Tasmania’s Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment claims there have been eight sightings of the tiger in the past three years. Crossed between a wolf, fox, and large cat, the Tasmanian tiger was believed to have gone extinct in 1936, when the last known member of the species died in captivity.
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Several Sightings of the Extinct Tasmanian Tiger Have Been Reported in Australia
The creature’s extinction was owed in part to European colonists killing thousands of them for attacking sheep.
One report from last February details the experience of two people visiting Tasmania from Australia. While driving, an animal with a stiff tail and striped back walked onto the road, looked at the vehicle a couple of times, and other people in the car were “100 percent certain that the animal they saw was a thylacine (Tasmanian tiger).”
Another report, filed the same month, described the creature moving through the mist in the distance. “I am accustomed to coming across most animals working on rural farms,” it said, “and I have never come across an animal anything close to what I saw in Tasmania that day.”
Despite these reports, there has been no actual, verifiable evidence that the creature has made a comeback. 