Resolving when (and where) the Thylacine went extinct

Extinction of the Thylacine, or 'Tasmanian tiger,' likely occurred between the 1940s and 1970s, with a small chance it may have persisted until the late 1980s to early 2000s in remote southwestern Tasmania. This conclusion emerges from an analysis of 1,237 observational records spanning over a century, combined with a novel method to visualize the species' spatio-temporal dynamics. The study also identified potential post-bounty refugia and pinpointed the most probable location of the final persisting subpopulation. Beyond shedding light on the Thylacine's fate, this approach offers a model for conservation efforts aimed at locating other rare or potentially extinct taxa.

Brook, B. W., Sleightholme, S. R., Campbell, C. R., Jarić, I., & Buettel, J. C. (2023). Resolving when (and where) the Thylacine went extinct. Science of the Total Environment, 877, 162878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162878