TAS: Listed as Extinct (Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 (Tasmania): September 2012) the source.
The Tasmanian Parks and wildlife list it as "The thylacine is the only mammal to have (possibly) become extinct..? source
The Tasmanian DPI list it as "Listed as presumed extinct under both the Federal and State Threatened Species Protection Acts." source
And Dr Fischer and Dr Bloomberg believe an animal is extinct if it has not been seen for 50 years.
source
"There's been more search efforts for the thylacine than any other mammal globally," she says.
"I think that's just a waste of money."
Since the thylacine only fits their criteria if you forget it has been "seen" then they have a point.
And I cannot believe that a few people in Tasmanian wandering around in their spare time is a greater effort than any search for any other mammal globally.
The authors also managed to mangle their own thesis.
In the past, says Fisher, up to a third of mammals classified as extinct or probably extinct have later been rediscovered. For example, the Brazilian Tree Rat was recently found, 180 years later after it was declared extinct. source
So..
One test uses the frequency of confirmed sightings. According to this method, species are more likely to be extinct when they are seen frequently before suddenly disappearing for an extended period of time. The test can also be used to estimate the date of an animal's extinction.
This method is fine if there have been five or more sightings of an animal but, says Fisher, 70 per cent of purportedly extinct mammals are known from fewer than five sightings. source
For a start, the thylacine was NOT seen frequently before it "disappeared".
And there are more than five sightings since it became "extinct.
For such animals, she and Blomberg developed a second test which uses a set of other criteria.
According to this method a species is less likely to be extinct if it has a large range, has declined due to habitat loss, was seen fairly recently before its apparent extinction, and there has been little effort made to search for it.
Such animals are more likely to be lurking somewhere where we haven't looked, says Fisher.
The researchers found that most of the mammals they tested were categorised correctly by the red list.
This included the thylacine, which is categorised as extinct.
Thylacines were quite frequently sighted before they disappeared, says Fisher, and this, together with the huge effort made to look for them, virtually rules out the chance that they still exist.
The researchers estimate the thylacine became extinct in the wild in 1935.source
Here we go again.
It appears the thylacine did have a large range, dependent on food and pressure from humans.
There would have been some habitat loss..and there has been little effort to search for the animal.
Once again, a few retired farmers looking in their spare time are not a "huge effort".
Glad to se the clueless ABC reporter didnt know anything about the subject or ask the bleeding obvious questions.
The Holy Grail it must be true because its pal reviewed paper is here.
