Thylacine Research Unit

In examining any evidence of potential thylacine sounds it is important to remember that no known recordings of thylacines are believed to exist. That is, there is no verified recording that any other recording can be compared to.

The sound below was sent to TRU as potential evidence of the continued existence of Thylacine.

The sound was allegedly recorded in the wilderness of Tasmania - by a group of campers.

On 31/3/2013.

It was sent to TRU for analysis.

The recording has been enhanced.

Recording Enhancement Notes

The sound of the animal is below the noise floor of the recording, therefore boosting the animal

sound also boosts the hiss of the recording, Noise reduction minimises the hiss but produces some

strange background sound of it's own when applied heavily.

Audio Limiting reduces the louder sounds over a set threshold, so that the talking and tent noises

aren't so loud in comparison to the quieter background noises.

The dominant frequency of the animal is around 1.6 Khz, boosting this area of the frequency

spectrum increases the volume of the animal but makes human voices sound a little lo-fi.

Although the applied enhancement techniques may make the overall quality of the recording lower,

they have made the sound of the animal a lot more audible.

Initial Analysis

To say the recording is interesting is an understatement. The type of sounds heard are consistent with anecdotal evidence of thylacine sounds.

The alleged location of the sighting meets the TRU's three H - theory well - the habitat is good, good historical bounty records and good post 1936 sightings - in face some in the last decade.

The sound was allegedly recorded at 0100 - making it plausible that these are indeed the sounds of thylacine calling out to each other.

Proof of Thylacine Existence

Whilst this recording is indeed tantalising - it is NOT evidence of the continued existence of thylacine. Why? There is no way of verifying to high degree of certainty that the sounds were made by thylacine with no 100% proven exemplar to compare it with.

While it is alleged to have been recorded in Tasmanian and in good habitat - this cannot be 100% verified either. Without the exact location being known it is impossible to verify if there were any potential other explanations (e.g., dogs on a nearby property)

Could this be thylacine?

Just as there is no way to prove this record is thylacine, there is no way to prove that it isn't. Whilst TRU, believe it most likely is NOT thylacine, however, remote the chances - this could be the sound of hunting thylacine.