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That's a fair point. I don't think there's enough data on the history of thylacines in Tasmania to figure out how healthy the poulation was before Europeans arrived.
Agreed. There's no way to know what their population was before Europeans but there's no reason to believe they weren't at the maximum number their environment could support. Tasmania is a good size island and not lacking for space. The forests were lush and green and still are today. The thylacine had no natural predators and had an ample supply of food and water.
There are photos available showing their bodies piled up from being shot. No one knows how many thousands were poisoned and bodies left to rot where they died.
The story is very similar to the American wolf but fortunately, a few wolves remained and they are being allowed to repopulate in some areas. Even when people realized their numbers had become dangerously low, that was thought to be a good thing and little to nothing was done to save the species because farming and ranching were big business in Australia and they were considered nothing more than a pest. Zoos in the early 20th century were little more than a place to stare at caged animals and they did very little to promote breeding programs of any kind. They could have been easily saved if any kind of effort had been made.
Last edited by marino760; 09-03-2018 at 06:27 AM..
There's other footage and photos as well that "experts" aren't able to dismiss. If they aren't thylacines then they must be a new species that no on has previously recorded. They certainly aren't dogs by appearance and movement.
That picture looks like a fox. The fact that these pictures and videos are so grainy all the time is also why I'm a skeptic. With the cameras we have these days someone should have gotten a good picture by now.
That picture looks like a fox. The fact that these pictures and videos are so grainy all the time is also why I'm a skeptic. With the cameras we have these days someone should have gotten a good picture by now.
That is a valid point. The one study supposedly put out over 500 game cameras; you would think that some great pictures would be headed to the internet - but we have not seen any. So, like BF, the longer this hunt goes on for an existing animal; the less likely it will be to actually find one. But, for the time being, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I totally agree also. The thing that sticks out to me about this particular footage is the tail. I was curious enough to look up information about how long a fox's tail is from a website specifically about foxes. A foxes tail is about 1/3 of it's body length and seems to appear to be longer because of the long hair on it's tail.
The animal in the footage clearly has a tail much longer than that and the animal has very short hair throughout it's body. The body hair length could probably be explained if the fox had mange or some other skin condition, but there's no explaining the length of the tail and how stiff it is which are both normal for a thylacine. Also, a fox would normally walk and be seen with it's tail held lower than it's back. The film shows an animal who's tail never goes lower than straight back the same height as it's spine.
Also, keep in mind this footage was taken from a good distance. The animal whatever it is, has no idea it's being filmed. The farther the distance, the grainier the film will be when it's enlarged.
My hopes are small too but I still have some hope.
That is a valid point. The one study supposedly put out over 500 game cameras; you would think that some great pictures would be headed to the internet - but we have not seen any. So, like BF, the longer this hunt goes on for an existing animal; the less likely it will be to actually find one. But, for the time being, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
The survey on the Cape York Peninsula didn't begin until April or later last year due to rains. Prof. Bill Laurence said of the survey:
Quote:
“Everything is being handled with strict confidence, so we won’t be able to say exactly where we are conducting the surveys aside from it being on the Cape York Peninsula.”
The research trip won’t begin until at least April [2017] as the team waits for the high river levels on Cape York to recede, and also to receive appropriate permits and landowner permissions for the search.
My guess is: either the study is still ongoing (they may have had additional logisticl problems, or have been struggling with the permit and permission issues), or they're analyzing the data before they publish the results and announce their findings to the world.
We also need to keep in mind that not every one will be happy if it's found the thylacine still exists in small numbers. It opens up a huge can of worms with preserving large tracts of land as they are and undisturbed, and limiting human contact into those areas. For certain, it's not great news for ranchers any more than reintroducing the wolf in parts of North America was good news for ranchers here.
Environmentalists will demand a great deal to keep the population not only viable but see to it that the population is allowed to grow. The history of the thylacine is one of Australia's biggest embarrassments. It would be interesting to see how the Australian government reacts trying to keep a balance between farming and ranching, and the needs of the thylocine to prosper in Tasmania.
That is a valid point. The one study supposedly put out over 500 game cameras; you would think that some great pictures would be headed to the internet - but we have not seen any. So, like BF, the longer this hunt goes on for an existing animal; the less likely it will be to actually find one. But, for the time being, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
If Forrest gets footage he isn't sharing it any time soon because he wants to get the area protected. We won't know until his show airs next season unless someone spills the beans
If Forrest gets footage he isn't sharing it any time soon because he wants to get the area protected. We won't know until his show airs next season unless someone spills the beans
I hate waiting to the end of a show; where are all the leakers when we need them! Thanks!
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