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Thylacine Research Unit
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Reports of thylacines made directly to T.R.U
T.R.U. accepts reports of sightings through a variety of media inclusing online form entry, email, and Facebook message. Where possible, and subject to the wishes of the person making the report, a T.R.U. member will discuss the sighting with the person or people involved.
As a starting point we assume that people making reports do so with honest intent. We first rank the sighting according to the academically-recognised Smith thylacine reporting classification system (The Tasmanian Tiger - 1980. National Parks & Wildlife Service, 1981, Steven J. Smith., 126-128). This includes factos such as visbility, lighting conditions, duration of the sighting and number of observers. Any subsequent investigations and critical analysis are based on the ranking system. A low ranking does not reflect at all on the person reporting the sighting; rather, it indicates incomplete observation, description or recall. For this reason it is very important to provide contact details so an experienced investigator can contact you if necessary to discuss the sighting. Your details will not be used for any purpose other than obtaining further details of the sighting, and will not be passed to any other party.
Reports will be published on this website and may be anonymous if you so wish.
If you wish to make a report please select the link below:
1998 - November - South Australia
What was the time of the sighting? eg 4:00pm : Approx. 5:45pm.
How many people made the sighting? : 1 person (went solo) plus 1 Long-haired Chihuahua Dog.
How big was the animal (e.g. cat, small dog, large dog, sheep, fox sized) : Considerably, larger than a Fox and smaller than a Wolf. A medium sized dog. It didn¿t strike me as being particularly, large.
Estimated height from ground to shoulder : Approx. 60cm.
Length of body : Approx. 140cm (including head and body).
Length including tail : Approx. 2 metres (including head, body and tail).
Coat Colour : Mainly a dirty, golden fawn shade. I could also see charcoal-coloured strands scattered sparsely across the fawn coat.
Distinguishing features of coat (colour, length, marks) : Medium hues of charcoal-coloured stripe markings could be seen from near base of tail, and markings continued along about two-thirds of the creature¿s back. The stripes were moderately bold in colour and did not appear to be full rings. The fur was short and dense. No mange could be seen.
Leg length compared with body length : Approx. one third.
Tail length compared to body length : Over half to two-thirds of body length (including head).
Tail height (short, long, absent) : Long tail. Approx. 60cm to 70cm long.
Tail shape : Strong-looking, long and straight cat-like or kangaroo-like tail. The tail length was strikingly long compared to a regular dog¿s tail. Short and dense hair. The end of the tail would occasionally curve/curl slightly, which I found rather peculiar.
Shape of face and jaws : Dog-like, medium sized head. Not a particularly, large or robust head. Temples were wider than the muzzle. Muzzle/snout was quite elongated and tapered towards the nose. Strong looking neck.
Ear length and jaws : Ears are similar to a German Shepherd Dog, but not as pointy. Jawline appeared to be similar in shape to a German Shepherd. Teeth were not able to be seen.
Eye shape and colour : Eye sockets appeared triangular in shape with large and open eyes. The eyes appeared dark in colour, but I could not identify the specific eye colour because I was approx. 20 metres away from the creature and it was difficult to see. They appeared to gleam.
Describe gait/movement : Similar to a dog and with an odd limping movement. Was wandering/sniffing a sign post like a dog. When the creature ran away, its movement was similar to a running Fox and/or galloping Horse, but not as fast.
Describe any sounds or calls the animal made : Did not hear the creature make a sound.
Number of animal sighted : 1
Please describe in as much detail as possible the narrative or details of your sighting : On this particular day, I decided that I would walk/jog around the southern side of the (location provided) in the late afternoon/evening. I ran up some rock steps and suddenly froze when I reached the top because I immediately spotted a strange looking dog-like animal, which looked rather like a Tasmanian Tiger sniffing a sign post some distance ahead of me. What struck me most about its appearance were the unusual stripe markings on its lower back and a long, cat-like tail.
I gazed at the peculiar creature from a distance in disbelief, and then decided to quietly sneak up to it as close as I could, trying my best to avoid making a noise. I managed to get fairly close (approximately, 20 metres), as the animal seemed to be oblivious to my approaching it. I further observed the creature closely and noticed its strange limping movements and occasionally, the end of its tail would slightly curl up. It was a creature which I never saw before and my intuition was telling me it may likely be a ¿Tasmanian Tiger¿, as it clearly did not appear to be a Dog, Cat, Fox, Dingo or any other animal which I was familiar with.
My heart stopped beating for a second, and I was completely awe-struck because I felt lucky to be one of the few who have come across such a magnificent and rare sight. I am adamant, that the creature was irrefutably, a Tasmanian Tiger. I was not afraid of the animal because I was aware from previous observations, that most animals of the Australian habitat usually choose to run away rather than be confronted by humans.
As, I continued to proceed towards the creature, at some point I inevitably trod on a piece of gravel, which made a big crunching sound. The Thylacine quickly looked in my direction with its dark gleaming eyes and suddenly bolted across the Park, never to be seen by me again.
To your knowledge has a sighting been made of this animal in this area before? : [Not Sure
]
As accurately as you can using gps or road numbers etc. can you describe the location of the sighting? : South Australian provided.
2015 April - Central East Tasmania
Date and time of sighting : April 6, 2015 at approx. 8:15p.m.
Please described the incident as best as you can :
Parts of the animal were obscured by some vegetation, so I did not clearly see the head, and I also can¿t say with certainty that I saw its tail, but I saw clearly in the beam of my headlights for all of about 2 or 3 seconds its front legs, torso and hind legs.
The animal was grey in colour, about the size of a medium/large dog, no visible stripes or other colouration, just a flat, plain grey colour all over, and the visible texture made me think the coat was quite thick and coarse. The front legs were thick and appeared too short in contrast to its hind legs, and the curve of the back was not smooth, almost like there was something wrong with its spine, like a kink in the curve just above where the front of the hind legs met the belly.
The thing that I noticed most and remember so vividly is the way it moved, almost the way you see a kangaroo when it's walking along on all fours, sort of loping, but casually rapidly, and it was definitely not a kangaroo.
2015 August - South East Tasmania
Number of witnesses : 2
Animal Size : Bit larger than fox size
Estimated height from ground to shoulder : 35cm
Length of body : 70-80cm
Length including tail : 140cm
Coat Colour : Fawn
Distinguishing features of coat (colour, length, marks) : Grey saddle area lightly striped
Leg length compared with body length : 1/3
Tail length compared to body length : 2/3
Tail height (short, long, absent) : Didn't get a great look. We where behind it most of the time.
Shape of face and jaws : Dog like
Ear length and jaws : Headlights blurred ear length and jaw definition
Eye shape and colour : NA
Describe gait/movement : Like bad CGI. X between cat and dog
Sounds or calls the animal made : None
Number of animal sighted : 1
Narrative : Was driving home with my son. A fast moving object running on all fours came out of a driveway and started running up the road in the direction we were heading. Because of the distance away I thought it was a really large Hare just because of the speed and the way it was running (not really dog like). Sped up and got closer and then realised it too big for a Hare so must be a dog. As I got closer it then ran up another access road through very thick scrub. I thought screw this what is it so I quickly followed it into the access road and sped right up to catch it. It actually then accelerated away from me and both my son and I could not believe it. It then turned left at top speed and disappeared into really thick dense scrub without breaking stride.
As it turned left we got a side on view. It was a light fawn colour and had dirty light grey stripes/ saddle on it's back. Not bold black stripes like some pictures show of tigers.
It was the size of a large whippet but had the running style of like a dog/cat cross.
I am a dog person breeder/owner/trainer and if it wasn't a Tas Tiger my only other logical assumption would be some kind of feral whippet because it was in absolute fear of being seen.
Where there other animals species present in the area at the time? : No
Can you estimate the distance in metres between you and the animal sighted? : Closest 20m
Where were the witness' when the sighting was made eg in a car and what was their behaviour at the time eg windows down, smoking radio playing etc.? : Inside the car passenger seat with me
How long did the sighting last? : 30-40sec
How did the sighting end? eg animal ran away : Animal ran full pace into dense scrub.
What was the weather like at the time of the sighting? : Clear. Just had record snow and snow still in area.
Where any footprints, scats, faeces, hair samples or evidence left behind after the sighting? : Didn't check. Bit freaked out.
2015 - Federal - New South Wales
Date and time of sighting : 05/06/15
Narrative : As a passenger at night I spotted a 4 legged animal - bigger than a cat and similar to a dog - with an elongated face and striped tail run across the road. It had a long skinny body. The tail looked strong and long. The tail was unusual and made it look different to a cat or a dog. My partner was driving and also saw the animal. The animal was unlike any other animal we had ever seen and when we looked it up on the internet it appears to match the Tasmanian tiger
2000 - Mundrabilla - Western Australia
Date and time of sighting : 2000
Narrative : This was years back. I pulled out of the Mundrabilla Roadhouse heading East. Only several minutes from getting back on the road, I saw what I have no doubt was a Thylacine. At the time I didn't know what it what. My initial impression was it looked like a prehistoric creature. It had a head much larger than most dogs, even pitbull. There were very distinctive stripes on it's back end and it had a very thick tail.
I just watched a documentary on the Tasmanian Tiger and it reminded me of what I saw. Even though it was so long ago, seeing something like this leaves a very clear memory.
There are a lot of feral dogs living out in the Nullabor. They seem scavenge around the roadhouse.
1998 - Frankland River - Western Australia
Date and time of sighting : 1998
Narrative:
I lived here by myself with my dog at the time.
This is a very remote location. The nearest town is a good 45 minute drive.
The property borders some very large nature reserves.
I used to explore the area quite a lot. My property had over 1,500 acres of pine plantation. Several times I went walking through the pine plantations. The area has a lot of sheep. I found it odd that there were a lot a sheep bones in the plantations. Many with crushed bones.
On several occasions at night my dog would bark at something that seemed to encroach on the house. The dog would always be up for running off and chasing creatures, if prompted. However, on these occasions the dog was barking in a protective manor, yet it would not pursue what it was barking at , when prompted... It was clearly scared!
I have always heard of vicious attacks on sheep further west of this location, in the Margaret River area.
I honestly feel that there is high likeliness Thylacine reside in this area.
There is minimal human activity in the area. Vast nature reservations that are virtually untouched. Lake systems with water and farms with thousands of sheep.
July 2007 - Anglesea Victoria
Location (closest town and/or map reference) : Anglesea
Date and time of sighting : 2007 July
Number of Witness: 3
Narrative:
I was driving my kids to
the surf west of Anglesea on Victoria's Great Ocean Road by about 5klm.
Traveling at around 70 klm per hour an animal ran in front of my car -
about 25 meters ahead of me. I was so shocked I immediately pulled over
to the side of the rode, looked at my daughter next to me and we were
both wide eyed and I said to her "what was that!" We were both stunned.
Our instincts were to start saying what the characteristics were and we
were at the same time eliminating animals - It wasn't a dog, it wasn't a
cat etc.... It had a large head, It was bigger than a dog, it ran in a
funny way, it had a big long strong tail.....my daughter commented that
it was stripy around the girth --- which I didn't comment on but I'm
colour blind. It was the most stunning thing I have ever sighted because
I was so in shock --- my mind was working overtime trying to
categorize what I had seen - I distinctly remember my mind zooming
in on features of the animal in that say 5 seconds of detailed looking
at it and storing features -- the main ones to me being bigger head,
lean body, strange gait for that sort of animal and particuarly the
strong tail. I said to my daughter after discussing the way it ran that
it was running like a horse.
Later we googled Tasmanian Tiger and I am still 100% convinced that
is what I saw because the diagrams and the distinctive features all
matched - especially the tail, gait, head, size --- along with my
daughter referring to striping.
September 2001 - Gingin Western Australia
Sighting by: Howard - Western Australia
Date of Sighting: 30/9/2001
Time of the sighting? = 1045 am
Number of witnesses = 2
Narrative:
Driving south down Brand Highway we saw a marsupial sitting upright, it
looked too big to be a quokka and too small for a kangaroo/wallaby. It
went forward on all fours and suddenly looked somewhat dog-like, with a
tapering kangaroo-like tail. It ran across the road in front of us with a
gait resembling a stiff, slightly awkward canter. There was either no
striping or faint striping, it was a nondescript light brownish colour
with a yellowish aspect around the flanks. The shape looked very Thylacine like. We stopped at Gingin for coffee and asked if people
ever reported seeing Thylacines around there. The waitress was very
unsurprised and said that her husband was interested in thylacines but
she had no knowledge of any sightings in the area where we saw this
creature.
November 2014 - West Gippsland
Sighting by: Lou - Victoria
Date of Sighting: 7/11/2014
Time of the sighting? = 1015am
Number of witnesses = 1
Narrative:
Please described the incident as best as you can : I live on a 150 acre
property surrounded by state forest I was walking down to the river to
check my Cray pots and the animal walked across the track in front of
me.
I thought it was a wild dog but the stripes on its back and the way it walked made me think it was a thylacine.
This is the second time in 3 years I have seen a similar animal, the
first one sighted was a light brown colour, his one was more dirty
yellow/brown
January 2014 Landsborough
Sighting by: Jeremy - Landsborough Queensland
Date of Sighting: 7/1/2014
Time of the sighting? = 1515
Number of witnesses = 1
How big was the animal (e.g. cat, small dog, large dog, sheep, fox sized) = small dog
Estimated height from ground to shoulder = 40-50cm
Length of body = less than a meter
Length including tail = 1m 20
Coat Colour = light brown
Distinguishing features of coat (colour, length, marks) = light coloured stripes on back near tail
Leg length compared with body length = short
Tail length compared to body length = medium long
Tail shape = thin
Shape of face and jaws =like a wallaby head
Description of gait/movement = slow movement
Number of animal sighted = 1
Narrative:
I was walking through selectively cleared area at the rear of the property which backs on to wood forests of eucalypt which meets onto Dularcha National Park= . I had been at my garden which is on the ridge and had gone down through a track id cleared down the hill. As i was coming back up and about to leave that area I thought a goanna was coming through the bush of consistently sarsaparilla vine, so got a bit out of the way so it wouldn't run right into me. As I watched it from side angle i saw its head appear and thought, oh its a wallaby, but as it emerged I saw it was on four legs so thought it was a wild dog, but as it went away into the next thick bush, I noticed light coloured stripes at the rear near its tail when I realised that what I had seen was not anything I had seen before, like half dog, half wallaby but not a dingo. I kept away from the area for a few minutes to think about what had happened and decided to go look for it to check on what I had seen as i had never before heard of thylacine sightings this far north. As i searched for it, I noticed I could still hear slight movements in thick lantana = infested bush, where there were big logs laying, a perfect hiding place. At this point I decided to let it be and I went to tell others what a strange thing I had seen in disbelief it was a thylacine. I researched on the computer all afternoon for a dog-like marsupial but could find no other explanation. My Girlfriend had seen this same animal running awkwardly down our road and into the bush 4 months prior. Smith Rating: 21. This report is assessed as fair under the Smith reporting system.
Sighting Report - 1989 Scott’s Peak Dam – South West Tasmania
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Sighting by: Steve Kelly
Date of Sighting: 1989
What was the time of the sighting? = 2.00pm
How many people made the sighting? = 2
Narrative
My friend Tony Kitchener who was with me when we sighted these Tasmanian tigers died in 2010 so I have decided to report the sighting before i follow him. we were going trout fishing at Lake Peddar in south west Tasmania summer of 1989. we were going in to Scott’s Peak dam at the southern end of the lake. about 20 k's or so in on the dirt road there is a place where you go up a fairly steep hill and when you reach the top you can see the lake for the first time. Back about 100 metres there's a tight-ish left hand corner that's where we saw the tigers. they were crossing the road and then they went into the bush further up the hill. We first saw them at about 60 metres last saw them about 15 metres . sighting lasted about 7 to 10 seconds. one tiger stopped and looked at our car while the other crossed the road. he then turned and followed across the road and up the bank then we lost sight of them in the ferns and underbrush. they weren't frightened at all and didn't run away they ignored us really.it was about 2pm as we were going fish-caking that night and had to set up camp etc.
Number of animals observed: 2
How big was the animal (e.g. cat, small dog, large dog, sheep, fox sized) = 2 sheep sized animals
Estimated height from ground to shoulder = 2ft
Length of body = long 5ft
Length including tail = 6ft
Coat Colour = light tan dark stripes
Distinguishing features of coat (colour, length, marks) = dark stripes on rump and tail
Leg length compared with body length = shortish strange rear legs
Tail length compared to body length = longish 18" or so
Tail shape = curved at the end
Shape of face and jaws = square wolf like face
Ear length and jaws = jaws long ears short
Eye shape and colour = not close enough
Describe gait/movement = gumpy a bit hoppy like they would occasionally be hitting a bump in the road
Describe any sounds or calls the animal made = not heard
Distance between observer and animal: 60-15 metres
How long did the sighting last: 7-20 seconds
Weather conditions: fine sunny - light was dappled where sighting occurred due to sun coming through tree canopy
Smith Rating: 43. This report is assessed as very good under the Smith reporting system.
Sighting by: Anon - Nunawading Victoria
Date of Sighting: 8/12/2012
What was the time of the sighting? = 2350
How many people made the sighting? = 2
Narrative:
I was standing in my lounge and out the window I saw the tail end of what i thought was a stray dog striding down the centre of my court, so being an animal lover i naturally went to investigate. I saw the animal dart behind a van acros the road and into the yard across the street. When i came around the van i saw an unusual long legged short haired animal looking skinny and unwell with a long tail that was bent up slightly at the end and brushing the ground. The animal was panicked when it saw me and tried to jump the fence. I remember thinking it's not a dog, it was moving wrong and its legs were too long for a cat, and it wasn't a fox because it had dark ring makings on the tail and was a grey brown colour, gradually darkening towards the rump. I took some steps back so not to corner the animal, and it almost jumped along as it ran across two yards into a bush where it stopped and looked at me in the eyes. Its eyes had dark eye lining makings like a big cat, but i called it like a dog and said come here puppy, and at this point the gas meter man came around the corner and the animal moved across the road into a building site and through a fence. As it did this, i looked at the man and asked him if he had seen that- and he said "what was that? It wasnt a fox ... " I went to investigate and he went on with his job, saying he sees some weird things on his rounds and by this time the animal was gone. I spent the rest of the day with this animal popping into my head because i was worried for the animals health and wondered what the heck it was. As i described the event to my partner the first thing he said was thylacine. I have had Goosebumps since. Could it be possible?
Thylacine Sightings in the area before: No
Animal seen: Unsure
Description of Animal:
Bigger than a cat or a fox, longer tail than both almost like a greyhound tail, female kelpie size, long back legs, small cat like head, at the top with a foxor dog type muzzle. medium to dark brownish grey, with dark rings around its tail.
Distance: (Report says 3) I've assumed that this is meant to be 300 metres - Warren.
Size of animal: About the size of an english sheep dog.
Behaviour of Animal:
Scared froze then ran hid and ran again
Duration of sighting: 3 mins.
Smith Rating: 5. This report is assessed as questionable under the Smith reporting system.
* NEW Sighting Report - 2011 Outside of Campbell Town Tasmania
Sighting by: Colleen
Date of Sighting: 24/12/2011
What was the time of the sighting? = 9.30pm
How many people made the sighting? = 2
Narrative
We were travelling across tassie from the spirit it was very quiet being xmas eve we hardly saw another car we had past Campbell Town though I cannot say how many kms past it was dusk our headlights were on. it ran across the midland hwy in the beam of our headlights I said to my husband what was that? I knew it was not a cat or a dog, and too big for a fox. It was light brown in colour and had a straight long tail, but hard to distinguish the exact colour in the headlights. It lopped across the road and disappeared into the scrub. we had never seen anything like it before and it was not until we were at mt field info centre and saw a picture of a tassie tiger that we realised what we had seen. I now see that there have been other sightings in the same area.
View Larger Map
Number of animals observed: 1
Behaviour observed: Just loped across the highway.
Description of the animal: About the height of a medium size dog but longer it had a head a bit like a dog it had a long straight thin tale, was light brown in colour. it lopped along
Distance between observer and animal: 2-3 metres
How long did the sighting last: 10 seconds
Weather conditions: clear warm night.
· This is the second similar sighting reported to TRU within this area. With the animals in question displaying similar behaviour.
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Sighting Report - 2012 Between ross and campbell town
Name and Information supplied but the person wishes to remain anonymous.
Sighting by: Anon Between Ross and Campbell Town Tasmania
Date of Sighting: 3/3/2012
What was the time of the sighting? = 4:00AM
How many people made the sighting? = 2
Narrative
On my vacation to
The animals were the size of a medium dog and had medium to large black stripe pattern pale fur (could have been yellow) they didn’t see me as a threat until I moved my car forward all they did was stare.
The sighting was made by my brother and I and lasted for 6 minutes at dawn (4:00 AM) with the sun just coming up. Some footprints were observed in the dirt but were not collected.
Smith Rating: 27. This report is assessed as good under the Smith reporting system.
- T.R.U observations:
- multiple people involved in sighting.
- previous reports in the surrounding area.
- Note that sunrise for 3/3/2012 was at 0513.
- the size of the animal is consistent with that of thyacine.
- 6 minutes is a lengthy sighting period.
Sighting Report - 2009 - tullah, tasmania from Jan M.
Sighting by: Jan M., Dunkley Street, Tullah, Tasmania
Date of Sighting: 10/04/09
What was the time of the sighting? = 9:00 PM
How many people made the sighting? = 2
Narrative
I drove up the hill from my house with a 12 year old passenger and we saw the animal run very fast across the road. It was the size and shape of the tiger. My neighbour had made a sighting some years previous. We are on the edge of the temperate rain forest here.
The animal was about 2 meters, very slim and sleek coat. long tail held straight out. On seeing the car the animal ran at a very fast pace across our headlights and into the scrub, the sighting lasted 5 seconds, it was a clear night and the animal was about 10 metres away.
Smith Rating: 24. This report is assessed as fair under the Smith reporting system.
- T.R.U observations:
- multiple people involved in sighting.
- previous reports in the area.
- description of the event including the habitat, actions of the animal in question and time of day.
- the size of the animal is consistent with that of thyacine.
- 5 seconds is a reasonable time for a sighting.
Sighting Report from Joan H. preolenna, Tasmania, 1978
Sighting by: Joan H. Preolenna, Tasmania
Date of Sighting: ?/?/1978
What was the time of the sighting? = 3:00 PM
How many people made the sighting? = 1
I had lived in Melbourne for most of my life; I had married a dairy farmer in 1974. I lived in Preolenna on the North West Coast of Tasmania, 27km from nearest town Wynyard. I was coming home from visiting a friend at Meunna to Preolenna at 3pm. The rain had stopped as I travelled along Meunna road. It was a narrow road with bush on either side. An animal came out of the bush on my right hand side. I knew it wasn't a dog, firstly because it lopped across in front of me instead of how a dog runs. Its tail wasn't bent it was straight' It had very distinctive stripes across it's back and looked to me like a young dingo type dog. It wasn't afraid of the car it just looked ahead to the other side of the road where it was heading. I thought to myself "that must be the animal that was eating my friends hens. (I found out later that that was the Tiger Cat). All my growing up years in Melbourne I had never heard of the Tasmanian tiger. That night when my husband came in from the dairy, I just mentioned that I had seen the animal that ate the chickens. In our conversation my husband realized that I had seen a Tasmanian tiger. I rang the Ranger in Smithton and told him what I had seen, He confirmed what I had seen and told me not to mention it as there had been many sightings and they were on the move. He wanted to protect them. I did mention it to a farmer in Meunna and he said that a lady from Preolenna had also seen one ten years prior in the same spot. I know what I saw so very clearly. It was a lovely young animal. So no one could ever tell me that they don't exist.. If I had have known at the time that it was the Tasmanian Tiger I could have easily protected it's foot prints, however when I related the animal to R. it was four hours later and we had heaps more rain.
The size of the Tiger was that of dingo, however it looked a young animal. Same shaped face side on as a dingo. The Tiger didn't look directly at the car just straight ahead the noise of the car didn't bother it at all. The Tiger was brown fairly light brown face and it had distinct dark stripes through its body. The animal was a little over a metre away for 7 to 10 seconds before the tiger crossed the road into the bush. I was surprised that the Tiger didn't appear to be a shy or a frightened animal considering that it was so close to a moving car.
Sighting Report from Steve
Sighting By Steve, The Esplanade, Mt Martha, Victoria
Date of sighting? - 08/05/2012
What was the time of the sighting? = 7:00pm
How many people made the sighting? = 1
Driving home at 7pm along the esplanade in Mt Martha, no other cars around at the time, there in front of me about 15 meters away I saw this animal crossing the road, reasonably quickly and apparently unaffected by the headlights of my oncoming car. The animal kept its pace and then disappeared into the shrubs.
The animal was about the size of a medium dog, with a long stiff tail that extended horizontal to the road, with an ungainly face paced walk, a Longish snub snout. The Coloration was light greyish fawn with some stripes on the hind quarters and was moving at a fast paced walk.
It was a clear still night of mild temperature and the sighting continued for approximately 10 seconds before the animal disappeared into the surrounding shrubs.
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Sighting Report from Matthew Squires
Date of sighting? - 24/03/2012
What was the time of the sighting? = 2.15pm
How many people made the sighting? = 2
Hey there, me, my dad and mum, were at my mates place in Maribyrnong, Victoria. My mum was on balcony of my mates flat, when my mum started screaming "looks theres a Tasmanian tiger!", i was inside watching TV and i said "mum your going crazy," but she kept on screaming. So me and my dad got up went out onto the balcony and looked down onto the vacant block of land to see nothing. So i said to mum "its probably a dog", ill go take a look, so i put my shoes on and mums saying "dont get too close to it it might bite ya" i kept laughing at her, at this stage i wasn't expecting to see anything, so i didn't take a camera, so I went towards the vacant block then suddenly this animal comes out from the fence, and i was about 10 - 15 metres from it, and i can tell you it looked 100% like a Tasmanian tiger, it was different and wasnt a dog or a fox. its tail was long and stiff it ran different to a dog, and it even had stripes on its back. I swear on my mothers grave it was a tassie tiger , or a dog that looks 100% like a Tasmanian tiger, i was the closest to it, and it looked exactly like in the pictures. So i ran back up got a camera but when i had came back it had gone, i ran around into the scrub land for a hour, across the road from the apartment hoping to find it, but it had gone.
Sighing was made at Pipe Makers Park 
It wasn't overly orange had a few shades of gray from memory, but what was different from a dog was its head, its tail which was stiff straight, and its tiger markers on its bum, it looked exactly like a tasmian tiger, as i was only 10 metres away from it. it also had scrawny back legs/hips.
Your probably thinking this could be anything its in a outer suburb of Melbourne, why haven't other people reported anything, i dont know. I think the location is irrelevant, what is relevant is i know what i saw, and yes my mum wasn't crazy , i can back her up. I wouldn't be on this website if i had a slight doubt that it was a mangy dog or fox. I saw what i saw and yes i strongly believe it was a tassie tiger.
*The sighting lasted about one minute and was reported to Chris Coupland via the www.thylacineresearchunit.org web response form
Report a sighting Web form from Alex D.
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Email From Dave to Bill via YouTube Shout out Sighting on Coolomon plain
Thylacines and stuff
They are on the mainland and they are as real as you and me mate. At least in 1978 when I saw one on the long plain road in the mountains near Canberra. I was on foot. It was early morning.
That was in 1978 in 2003 I thought I'd share the experience and put up a webpage.....
http://www.angelfire.com/oz/thylacine/
Anyway it was a long time ago I'm 48. Your friends may be interested I don't know...
Cheers Dave
See Below for a cut and paste of Dave original account from the angel fire website
THE SIGHTING
In 1980 whilst hiking in the Coolomon plain area, I entered a narrow section of open plain near the Coinbill turnoff on the Long Plain Road. The time was approximately 6.15 - 6.30 am and the sun had been up for about 30 minutes. My attention was caught by the movement of something about 60 meters away that at first glance I thought was a medium sized feral dog standing head down in short grass roughly 15 meters from the eucalypt scrub that borders the paddock like plains of the area.
The animal was a tan-caramel colour with pronounced dark stripes from shoulders to rump and had a ridged "kangaroo like" tail. Quite suddenly the animal reared on its hind legs, nose to the air, turned to the opposite direction than that it had been standing and raced into the vegetation at speed. The animal moved in a way that I had never encountered before. It appeared to bound away using its front and hind legs in unison reminding me of a wild boar in full flight but with much smoother and longer strides.
It was obvious that the animal had seen/smelt/heard or sensed my presence and simply vanished. The encounter lasted in full no more than 15 seconds. I walked to the spot where the animal had been and found a small dead wombat "gutted", a very strange sight for the plains. This was apparently the meal of the animal I had just seen.
I really did not think about it too much until about 10 years later when I saw pictures of the strange animal I encountered that day. There was no question about it, the animal I had seen was a Thylacine. (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
QUESTIONS EMERGED!
· How could I have seen an animal presumed extinct in Tasmania for the past 70 years?
· How could I have seen an animal presumed extinct from the mainland for 8000 years?
· If so, How could they have remained undetected this length of time?
A very brief History
- 1840 the Van Diemen’s Land Company offered a bounty on the Thylacine.
The Tasmanian government followed suit in 1888. Records show that bounties on 2,268 Thylacines were collected between the years of 1888 and 1914. - 1933, the last captured Thylacine was placed in the Hobart zoo dying later the same year.
- 1936, the government totally reversed its stance and granted the Thylacine complete protection, imposing severe fines on anyone killing one.
THE THEORY
1910, It is reported that an amateur organisation called The Thylacine Preservation Society released 12 Thylacines at Wilson's Promontory. These animals could have entered the Strezlecki Ranges or Baw Baws Ranges
The Thylacine from all accounts is an extremely shy animal, avoiding all contact with humans and lying low and remaining out of sight during the daylight hours, becoming active hunters at night. It is believed that family groups could contain up to six members and the mating season from accounts was from September to October with 3 or four young being born in November or December. The Melbourne Zoo recorded the birth of four pups in captivity on the mainland, (contrary to most reports that no Thylacines were ever bred in captivity).
OK SO IF IT'S POSSIBLE...
A marsupial carnivore would seek a preferred habitat. A combination of dry eucalypt forest, wetlands and grasslands perfect habitats provided in the Australian Alps. (see map below).
The Australian Alps and surrounding ranges of The Great Dividing Range provide an environment preferable to the Thylacine (hilly, dense, dry sclerophyll, or mixed sclerophyll-rainforest communities, rocky outcrops). They have the benefits of privacy in the extensive mountain bush and ample hunting grounds on the myriads of grassy plains and lightly timbered areas that dot the mountainous region. As largely a nocturnal animal they hunt during the evening, night and early morning on grassy plains and open woodlands,
The area of the Australian Alps and Great Diving Ranges of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland supply extensive areas of habitation where a shy, nocturnal animal could easily exist un-hampered and undetected. There are still many thousands of square kilometres of bush land that have had no more exploration than an aerial survey.
This animal is hardy and adaptable; it can withstand winter snow and frosts, summer extremes of more than 30 deg C. The Thylacine was exported to Zoos in Great Britain, Europe and The United States a wide range of environmental conditions in rainfall, temperature.
In the last half century, sightings have been reported from many parts of the country, with most from the well- watered, mountains in the East and South-East of the continent with over 500 recorded sightings.
Where do we go from here?
I have a few ideas and would be interested to hear from anyone who has any pertinent information regarding the topics I have discussed
I am particularly interested in sightings from these areas
Amazing sighting in Round Hill Nature Reserve, NSW, 1971
1957 in a Rural New South Wales in a small aboriginal community west of Sydney. A young boy grew up in a small community with intense interest in his natural environment and familiar with the local animal species due to spending all of his time in the bush. In 1971 at the age of 18 the young man's car and the family car were packed up to take the 9 hour drive in order to move locations so the young man could attend university.
The two cars were travelling in convoy with several hundred metres separating them due to dust. The second car (the parents could not see the young man car that was in front). An animal trotted off to the side of the road as he drove past. At first it struck him as been a big dog but it had obvious dark stripes going across its back and tail. The young man was familiar enough with the bush to know that it was not a shadow pattern he knew what this out of place and foreign and abnormal animal species.
The animal was no more than 10m from the front of the vehicle. The young man did not stop but was travelling slowly at the time due to the nature of the dirt road he was travelling on. He continued on to the next closest town as he was unfamiliar with the way next to travel and to wait for his parents. When they turned up he approached them and asked "if they saw the dog back there with stripes on its back?" And they replied "No we didn't see anything!" The young man remember thinking “my god then I don’t know what that is then!”. This was the extent of the sighting at the time.
The sighting was then forgotten as the young man studied gained his degree. Years later he saw a picture in the dentist of a Thylacine which triggered the memory of the sighting and instilled in the young man that was what he saw. But knowing that thylacine were meant to be extinct he was worried that he may have been loosing his mind. He kept his sighting secret for over 40 years at risk of been ridiculed due to his profession. Years later he was married and years after that the man told his wife of what he saw and she encouraged him to share the sighting, talk to someone and not take the sighting to the grave.
The man approached some people at the university but to no avail. The man kept his secret for 40 years before directly contacting T.R.U. after researching it on the web and contacting us directly through the contact us web form and wanting T.R.U.'s Chris Coupland to call him directly on the telephone. The call was anonymous but Chris was given enough information to be reassured that the sighting was legitimate and credible.
The man also located the sighting on google earth for T.R.U. and gave permissinon for the story to be relayed but no names or things that could be used for identification been given. (At the time of the sighting he had no idea of what a thylacine was)