A highly-anticipated research project which just might provide proof that the Tasmanian Tiger still exists is scheduled to begin later this month.
Spearheaded by a pair of professors from Australia's James Cook University, the impending scientific survey sparked a flurry of interest when it was announced earlier this year.
Alongside a bevy of media interest, the news also resulted in numerous thylacine reports being submitted to the scientists behind the project.
"We have now a fairly extensive geographic database of 'sightings' of thylacines, a few of which stand out as being really interesting," professor Bill Laurance told the Brisbane Times.
The study, which primarily focuses on the dwindling population of various native creatures in Australia, will utilize over 50 high-tech camera traps carefully placed in key areas of the country's Cape York peninsula.
That region is one of the few parts of the world which still boasts large swaths of untouched wilderness that would, ostensibly, be an ideal location for the thylacine to hide.
Although Laurance conceded that it is highly unlikely that the survey will spot the creature, he told the newspaper, "we have decided to go ahead and incorporate it into a robust scientifically rigorous scientific survey, using pretty cutting edge techniques."
With both the BBC and Animal Planet hoping to document the project for their respective channels, it's likely that the endeavor will wind up on your television screen sometime in the future.
That said, Laurence cautioned the filmmakers that their work may wind up like The Blair Witch Project in that the title character is never seen on screen.
Should that be the case with the thylacine, it would certainly be a disappointment and so we're still hoping that the creature can overcome the mathematical odds and prove to be a true underdog success story by finally showing itself and proving that the Tasmanian Tiger still exists.
Source: Brisbane Times