Wishful thinking aside, odds are, the thylacine is really gone
Thylacine passes extinction test
People should stop wasting time and money looking for the Tasmanian tiger, according to new Australian research.
Dr Diana Fisher and Dr Simon Blomberg from the University of Queensland’s school of biological sciences report their findings in a recent issue of Conservation Biology.
Since the last wild thylacine was captured in 1933, there have been ongoing searches and numerous unconfirmed sightings of the carnivorous marsupial.
But, says Fisher, such efforts are misguided.
“There’s been more search efforts for the thylacine than any other mammal globally,” she says.
“I think that’s just a waste of money.”
Tip: Cryptozoology.com
The researchers used a statistical test to determine whether it was fruitful to look for them. Their answer: No. There have been diligent searches for supposedly extinct animals, such as the thylacine, and these quests have failed. Reported sightings have gone unconfirmed. Sadly, it appears to be truly gone. It’s a logical stretch to think they really are still out there, hiding and surviving. Odds are against it. Everything dies someday. And species eventually go extinct. That’s how it goes.
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