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| "Fluffy" |
The magazine will only accept entries that include two digital photographs of a live and uninjured tiger, moving video of the tiger and a report from a veterinarian who was present when the images were taken. An odd condition. The move has taken Tasmanian authorities by surprise, with State Environment Minister Judy Jackson issuing a statement late today saying anyone considering taking up the bounty must be aware of state laws under the Threatened Species Act.
The head of Tasmania's Nature Conservation Branch, Alastair Scott, says there are established practices and permit procedures for people wanting to do wildlife research. Mr Scott says it is unlikely permits will be issued for the trapping of thylacines. "We will want to ensure that any research done is done legally and ethically and also that people who come into the state, if in fact they do, that they don't endanger their own lives by going out into the wild areas of the state," he said. Last month's digital photographs are being forensically analysed at a laboratory in Melbourne.
The Tasmanian Tiger is more like a large dog or wolf with a very large jaw indicating it is a bone cruncher and probably feeds on carrion rather than hunting. There have been regular reports of sightings from sparsely populated and heavily forested areas of Tasmania. I wouldn't rule out they still exist. OTOH there have also been regular reports from the mainland as well and they are considered to have died out shortly after the first domestic dogs came with the first humans and became modern dingos perhaps 30,000 years ago. In addition DNA from a specimen preserved in alcohol has been sequenced and it is a candidate for the first vertibrate to JurassicParked.