Long-extinct Tasmanian tiger may still be alive and prowling the wilderness, scientists claim

The last known thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) died in captivity at Hobart Zoo, in Tasmania, on Sept. 7, 1936.  (Image credit: Dave WATTS / Contributor via Getty Images)

The "completely unique," wolf-like Tasmanian tigers that thrived on the island of Tasmania before they went extinct in 1936 may have survived in the wilderness for far longer than previously thought, research suggests. There is also a small possibility they are still alive today, experts say. 

Tasmanian tigers, also known as thylacines (Thylacinus cynocephalus) were carnivorous marsupials with distinctive stripes on their lower back. The species was originally found across Australia but disappeared from the mainland roughly 3,000 years ago due to human persecution. It persisted on the island of Tasmania until a government bounty introduced by the first European settlers in the 1880s destroyed the population and drove the species to extinction.