By Tim Binnall
Researchers in Australia have discovered the remains of the last-known Tasmanian Tiger, which died in captivity back in 1936 and subsequently saw its skin and bones go missing at some point in the decades following its demise. The remarkable find was reportedly made by Robert Paddle and Kathryn Medlock, who managed to locate the specimen in a cupboard belonging to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery's education department, which had received the remains from the Hobart Zoo shortly after the animal passed. The duo attributed the disappearance to both a cataloging error as well as the historic nature of the specimen not being fully understood at the time.
To that end, Medlock explained "they didn't really know it was the last one," since "they thought there were still animals out in the bush." This belief was shared by both the Australian government, which issued a permit for someone to procure a Tasmanian Tiger from the wild, as well as the museum, which she said "offered 50 pounds for a thylacine if someone could catch one and bring one in, but no one did." It was only later, when scientists came to the conclusion that no further creatures could be found, that the significance of the specimen was truly realized and, by then, the location of the remains had somehow been forgotten over time.
According to the researchers, at one point in the past, the skin of the last thylacine was toured throughout Australia as part of a traveling exhibit put together by the museum. However, Medlock observed that "it was chosen because it was the best skin in the collection, we didn't know then it was the last one." Following that excursion, the remains ended up in a cupboard at the museum, where they sat for decades until the duo recently discovered them. The skin and bones have since been transferred to the museum's zoological department, where they are now being housed in a special case designed to keep them well preserved.