The Tasmanian tiger (
Thylacinus cynocephalus), which looked like a large, long dog with stripes, was hunted close to extinction within a hundred years of the arrival of the first European settlers on the island south of the Australian mainland.
The settlers were puzzled by and feared the animal, despite its shy, secretive nature and preference for avoiding humans.
The last known thylacine died at Tasmania's Hobart Zoo in 1936, but several sightings in the wild have been claimed since then.
Earlier this year, a news magazine,
The Bulletin, offered a reward of $1.25 million ($929,000 U.S.) to anyone who could prove the animal had survived, but the cash went unclaimed.
Editor Gary Linnell said that after "unprecedented interest" searchers had found "not a shred of evidence, not a bone, not a dropping, not a shred of hair."
Tasmanian wildlife biologist Nick Mooney told ABC radio the latest search had only reinforced the enduring mystery of the beast.
"Unless there's absolute proof, people will go on speculating," he said.
Archer, however, is determined to recreate the beast.
"Some of the worst critics of this project, most of them curiously coming from Tasmania, have folded up and said, well, if they can help and there's something they can contribute, they're happy to be part of it," he said.
Name: Tasmanian Tiger, aka Thylacine (
Thylacinus cynocephalus)
Primary Classification: Marsupialia (Marsupials)
Location: In recent times, southwestern Tasmania.
Habitat: Preferred open forests and grasslands.
Diet: Wallabies, kangaroos, small birds and other small mammals.
Size: Up to 6.5 feet in length and 66 lbs in weight.
Description: Sandy brown to gray coat, with 15 to 20 dark stripes from shoulders to tail; short, thick fur; large, dog-like head; powerful jaws with long canines; short, stiff tail; females had a back-opening pouch by the tail.
Cool Facts: Its jaws could open 120 degrees, wider than any other known mammal. It was once Australia's largest carnivorous marsupial.
Conservation Status: Extinct
