Tasmanian tiger may have survived into the 2000s, new analysis suggests

While a small group of enthusiasts cling to the idea the thylacine is still around, Prof Barry Brook says there is ‘less than a 1%’ chance of the Tasmanian tiger still eking out an existence somewhere. Photograph: NFSA

The date 7 September 1936 is widely regarded as the day when the world’s last remaining Tasmanian tiger – also known as the thylacine – took its final breath in a zoo in Hobart.

But how long did the last few dog-like striped carnivorous marsupials stick around out of sight in Tasmania’s wilderness? A few years? A couple of decades?