By Tim Binnall
A woman visiting a national park in Australia captured footage of a curious creature that some suspect could be a Tasmanian Tiger, though not everyone is convinced that the odd animal is the legendary thylacine. The intriguing sighting reportedly occurred earlier this month when Jessie Milde and her family were visiting Belair National Park in South Australia. Their trip took a wondrous turn when, she recalls, "we saw this thing starting to move across the road." Initially suspecting that the oddity was a "weird looking kangaroo," Milde then came to believe it was a "really scraggy looking dog," before ultimately conceding that she had no idea what the creature could have been.
Milde's sister, who accompanied her on the trip, is certain that the family encountered the long-long Tasmanian Tiger, which was declared extinct decades ago, yet that determination has its doubters as there have been multiple alleged sightings of the animal over the years. "That's the closest thing that we could compare it to," the bewildered witness said, noting that the creature "had a really weird gait to it, a sort of lolloping almost movement." She also dismissed the possibility that the animal could have been a fox, observing that "the tail was completely different, its back was really sloped down and its head was a completely different shape."
Fortunately, Milde managed to film some of their sighting using her cell phone and the video, which can be seen above, may have allowed for the animal to be identified, though those hoping that it was a Tasmanian Tiger will undoubtedly have their hopes dashed by the suggested solution. Wildlife biologist Nick Mooney, who is frequently enlisted by the media to assess possible thylacine footage, argued that the creature has "all the hallmarks of a fox with mange." He also noted that its peculiar way of walking was more akin to a small canid-type creature rather than a marsupial like a Tasmanian Tiger. While this particular sighting may not have turned out to be that of a Tasmanian Tiger, hope remains that the creature could still be somewhere out there waiting to be found.