Naarding thylacine
Overview
In 1982, Tasmanian Parks' wildlife officer, Hans Naarding spent 3 minutes observing an adult male thylacine at close quarters in the dead of night. The sighting was considered so credible that it sparked a 2+ year search for the species by Tas Parks in conjunction with Dr Eric Guiler.
According to Tasmanian newspaper, The Mercury, then Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service Director, Peter Murrell described the sighting as the best “in the history of the service” and “irrefutable and conclusive”".