1933 - last tiger captured from the wild, central south Tas

1935 - sighting on southern shore of Macquarie Harbour, west coast - almost never mentioned and never questioned, because it’s before that magical “1936” date that everyone has latched onto.

1936 - last verified tiger dies in zoo at Hobart

1938 - Michael Sharland et al. expedition to west coast finds tracks of animals. Agreement is they’ve survived. Recommends a sanctuary.

1945–6 - David Fleay et al. expedition to west coast finds tracks and hears calls. Recommends a sanctuary.

1982 - Hans Naarding, park ranger, sights thylacine in north west. Parks department launches 18 month camera based search.

1990 - tiger allegedly shot in central-south Tas (see 2nd book by Col Bailey for story, with photo)

1995 - Col Bailey, searching since 1967, sights tiger in Weld valley in south-east Tas

These are some of the well-publicised accounts and claims for tiger sightings. There are many others equally well publicised and countless others.

Another responder to the question said that local sighting stories are always 2 or 3 degrees removed, yet I have had people tell me their first-hand accounts of sightings dated to the 1980s and 1990s.

In favour of the species being extant are the following:

The southwest is vast with many large areas containing very few or no roads. Other canine-like species have gone undetected for decades (such as the short-eared dog in South America and singing dog in New Guinea). The species was always cryptic and difficult to see.

In favour of the species being extinct are the following:

80+ years is a very long time for a top-order predator that can grow to the size of a leopard to remain without any undisputed physical evidence. Camera trapping efforts are only increasing exponentially, and yet still the species hasn’t been photographed undisputedly. Whilst extant, the species did cross paths with humans regularly, even if rarely - an explanation for how they could persist would almost certainly have to include a behavioural change for the species. That said, this is not unknown - see the book Throwim Legway by Tim Flannery for an account with tree kangaroos learning to avoid humans after just one interaction.

Having pondered this question for the past 12 years in a fair amount of detail, and having searched in Tasmania’s southwest, I’d say there is still a good chance they are there in small numbers. That opinion does rely on allegations such as those in the list above and a whole lot of unpublished claims, sightings and reports.