Tracking Tasmania's Tiger

**Tracking Tasmania's Tiger** is the 12th episode in Season 3 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Gates goes to Australia's island state of Tasmania to investigate sightings of the supposedly extinct Thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian Tiger. Recent eyewitness accounts and photographic evidence suggest it may not be extinct.

## Historical Context

"Meet the thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger. Once the apex predator of all of Australia this carnivore was feared for its sharp fangs and terrifyingly wide jaws. It was brutally hunted to the brink of oblivion by European colonists. The last of its kind died on the island of Tasmania in 1936. Snuffing out a species that had survived for 26 million years. But something strange is happening in Tasmania. Eyewitnesses are coming forward, adamant that the Tasmanian Tiger continues to live on in the wild."

- Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh goes to Hobart, Tasmania and visits the abandoned Beaumaris Zoo where the last known thylacine named Benjamin died. Josh meets Greg Irons, a wildlife expert, at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary where he meets several native animals. The next day, Josh goes to Launceston and meets rancher, Andrew Orchard who has seen thylacines on his land. He has photos of them and they go to a den which he believes belongs to a thylacine family. They search the bush and get a sample of scat to test. Josh meets the Thylacine Research Unit - Chris Coupland, Bill Flowers, and Warren Darrach next. They use the sound of a thylacine bark and a parabolic dish to locate a response. They find animal bones and Warren finds a cave which Josh explores. Along a river in the cave, he finds a couple of prints which he takes photos of.

Josh heads to Melbourne, Australia and meets researcher, Michael Moss. Michael believes the thylacine was rereleased as part of a wildlife protection program in the 1900s but the information was kept secret because of the thylacine's bad reputation. There is a new video of a possible thylacine that was taken in Melbourne well Josh is visiting and Michael shows Josh his own video depicting what looks like a thylacine. They take a TOMCAR into the forest and take video chips from trail cameras and review footage. In one clip, they find an animal that resembles a thylacine run behind a log. At the Melbourne Museum, Josh meets Dr Andrew Pask, an evolutionary biologist. He tells Josh they've been able to sequence the entire thylacine genome.

## Final Words

"On my trek through Tasmania in search of the thylacine, one thing stood out most - everyone I met desperately hoped that their ancestors didn't completely kill off this unique native species. Of course, the hunt for an elusive and possibly extinct creature is bound to come with uncertainties. Like the video that Michael Moss captured on the mainland, I was hopeful we were looking at a Tasmanian tiger, but it's too hard to make a positive I.D., and it could be nothing more than a local fox. The scat on Andrew Orchard's property failed to yield up testable DNA, and so proved inconclusive. The prints from the cave? Compelling, but without a sighting of the creature that left them, it will also remain open-ended. But one thing is certain. If the Tasmanian tiger is still out there, as so many people believe, it will take devotees like Andrew and Michael to keep the hope alive and professionals like the Thylacine Research Unit to track down physical proof. And while we don't yet know for sure if remnants of the species continue to live in the wilds of Australia, we do know that science is closer than ever to reversing the sins of our past."

- Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "Okay, I smell like a Turkish Bath. Let's go."
* "I left the TV on in my hotel room."
* "Can I try the kangaroo salami?"

## References

1. ↑ https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullrights/2017/3/4/TEXU309H\_Tasmanian-Tiger\_251442\_913010.1458341.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491594003731.jpeg