DESPITE being officially extinct, the Tasmanian Tiger is still making news headlines, even here in Northern NSW.
There have been several recent sightings of an unusual 'dog-like' animal, seen in and around the region and north coast wildlife expert Gary Opit has been taking note.
For the past 15 years, Mr Opit has been a regular guest speaker on ABC North Coast (formerly 2NR) and in that time he has received around 50 reports from callers describing an unfamiliar animal that he said resembles one of two species, possibly the marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex), or the Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus).
While the last known Tasmanian Tiger died in Hobart Zoo in 1936, Mr Opit said that the most recent fossil evidence of the marsupial lion, which lived on Australia's mainland, was dated at around 3000 years old.
Many of the recent sightings have occurred around Mullumbimby, Nimbin and Byron Bay.
But before you jump to any conclusions, Mr Opit has been gathering newspaper clippings and eyewitness reports from all over Australia since the early 1960s when, as a young man, he first became interested in unusual and unclassified native animals.
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