Update: Thylacine Photos
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on March 3rd, 2007
You may remember the saga from last year when we published the thylacine photographs here on Cryptomundo that had been the talk in the cryptozoology community.
We then were contacted by someone on Mr. Emmerichs’ behalf requesting that the photographs be taken down from Cryptomundo.
We complied, even though Mr. Emmerichs did not contact us personally, as we requested.
It now seems that he was trying to sell them for $25,000.
Tourist chasing Tassie Tiger’s tail
By Glenn Cordingley
March 02, 2007 02:09pm
Sunday Herald SunA GERMAN tourist searching for evidence that Tasmanian Tigers still exist is just chasing his tail, a wildlife scientist says.
German tourists Klaus Emmerichs and Birgit Jansen snapped two digital photos of what they claimed was the animal in Tasmania’s rugged forests while on holiday in 2005.
Mr Emmerichs has come back to join Col Bailey, who also claims to have seen a tiger in 1967, to try to capture the animal on video.
University of Tasmania professor of wildlife research Hamish McCallum cast doubt over their claims.
“We have got to make sure we do not get hoaxers out there painting stripes on dogs,” he said.
Prof McCallum said the enduring myth should be settled once and for all within the next five years.
“If there are any tigers out there, then the next five years is the best chance of ever finding out,” he said.
“Digital cameras with infra-red triggers are being placed in the bush both to look for diseased Tasmanian devils and to detect foxes.
“If a tiger breaks one of the beams, its picture will be taken. I would be completely astonished but delighted if this were to happen.”
The Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, was a striped, wolf-like native mammal, which was hunted to extinction by European settlers.
The last one died in a zoo in 1936.
But stories of surviving animals persist and yearly unconfirmed sightings have turned the tiger, whose scientific name means pouched dog with a wolf’s head, into a holy grail for mystery hunters from across the globe.
Mr Emmerichs recalled the moment he said he saw the animal.
“I came from high and he can’t see me. He had his nose down and was snuffing,” he said on the ABC.
“I want to prove that it is not extinct, like the people think and the world thinks.”
Mr Emmerichs said he and Ms Jansen had no idea the tiger, which drank at a creek then loped away, was supposed to be extinct.
Experts initially believed the night photos showed portions of a Thylacine obscured by foliage, but later examinations led to accusations of a set-up, ending a bid to sell the pictures for $25,000.
“I’m convinced that they are still here,” Mr Bailey said.Glenn Cordingley
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
I saw some postings about this at Where Light Meets Dark. I hope that Herr Emmerichs is successful in photographing a thylacine or thylacines.
I did not have an opportunity to see the photos when they were first posted; they had been taken down by the time I learned of them. I’d love to see them.
I hope that the photos are genuine photos of a living thylacine. It seems to me that if Herr Emmerichs really thinks the photos are those of a thylacine, he would want to have them examined by an expert, and not just yank them off the net and hide them away, then try to sell them to the highest bidder.
Certainly he owns the photos, and there is nothing wrong with making money from them. But in the interest of furthering knowledge of the creature, it would seem that he could permit experts in Australian fauna to examine them. He could hold them to a contract that the photos would not be published in any form, retaining publication rights for himself. If the photos are deemed genuine, I feel sure that the National Geographic Society, or some other organization, would gladly pay him for publication rights.
Interesting new article about the Thylacine. If any animal deserves to be still out there clutching to survival it is this one. I would love to see the original photos sometime though. Wonder if they will ever be realised to the general public?
The news about the digital cameras with infra-red triggers that are being placed all over the Tasmanian bush sounds exciting. Let’s hope they turn up an unexpected surprise and the “Tiger” is finally confirmed as belonging to the land of the living. 🙂
Kittenz I saw the photos published on Cryptomundo and I can say wholeheartedly that you didn’t miss much. Only one of the photos I feel really shows what can be considered to possibly be a thylacine. The photos published were extremely poor quality but did resemble a vague “tiger” shape if you stared long enough but really could have been anything. However, they were mearly photo copies from a newspaper that had been deliberately and considerably degraded. The original photos are of MUCH higher quality. These are the ones I want to see and that have still not been realised to the general public yet!
wish i could see these photos, anyone have them locally on their machines?
I saw them and while I’d always like to respect the owner’s rights, I wish I’d downloaded ’em just for reference. I recall them being curious but inconclusive, and since this is all about cryptids, I should say “inconclusive in a very interesting way”. I probably saw ’em here on cryptomundo and recall some of the discussion and curious yellow and red lines being applied to illustrate a range of possible explanations…so, inconclusive; especially since we weren’t seeing the originals. I also recall that considering the testimony of the people who took the picture, the quality of it was pretty much what you’d expect…barely focused, obscured by leaves and shadows, but tantalizing never the less. I wish ’em good luck and lots of fun…and a fair reward.
As you might expect, I feel otherwise. After numerous analyses of the versions which were published, I believe they genuinely show a 3d scene which was photographed by the camera and not created using image editing software. This is based on the geometry that can be modelled because of the fact Mr Emmerichs moved a few paces between shots.
The question remains, then – did he genuinely photograph a thylacine in the wild, or did he stage a hoax by photographing a model, or cardboard cutout – as was the case with an Australian newspaper that wanted to demonstrate how easy it could be.
It’s been written before, but given my numerous phone conversations with Mr Emmrichs and email communication with a number of thylacine-related researchers, I am inclined to believe Mr Emmerichs’ story as genuine. He and Birgit Jansen have twice now flown back to Tasmania to attempt a capture of that footage. Let me see – two adult return fares from Europe to Tasmania – three times over (including the original trip which resulted in the sighting), plus incidental expenses, accommodation, hire car and fuel, not to mention shipping his camera at his own expense of a few hundred dollars to allow it to be inspected. A$25,000? Yep – that might cover it, plus a few thousand to spare. But that’s an awful lot of work if you think money is the only motive.
Chris.
Thylacines are one of those things – it was a tragic, dumb way to lose a magnificent animal. Collectively, people feel guilty for killing them off, so they come up with odd photography to ‘prove’ this and make a buck on national guilt.
I’m more impressed with reports of remnant populations in Aussie-land based on fingerprint and sightings. Photos are too easy to doctor with a good program.
Yeah, Kittenz, YourPTR is right. They were very poor quality photos and totally inconclusive. It was one of those things where if you looked at the picture long enough and hard enough, then you could almost make out something reminiscent of a Thylacine. They are certainly not photos I would think National Geographic would be overly interested in.
Recall that the originals have not been published. Newspaper “The Tasmanian” published copies which were lower resolution, cropped and the incorrect colours. I am not sure exactly what the European magazines cropped.
Those who have seen the originals had no doubts the photos showed a thylacine. What they did not know was whether the photos were genuine. This includes Nick Mooney – wildlife biologist with 20 years experience investigating sightings claims, and Col Bailey – independant thylacine researcher with 40 years experience investigating sightings claims.
Mr Emmerichs has told me the originals show enough detail to make out the texture of the animal’s fur. They also show that the ears are positioned differently to the 1930 David Fleay photo with which they are most often compared.
Chris.
Well, if a biologist with 20 years of experience has seen them and is convinced that it is a genuine photo, then I suppose we should take that to heart. That is a very good vote of confidence on the originals. However, the originals were never posted here and the ones I saw could be a lot of things other than a thylacine. If they are of a Thylacine, then they were inconclusive. The ones posted here, I mean.
When I wrote “I am not sure exactly what the European magazines cropped.” I meant “I am not sure exactly what the European magazines printed.”
Sorry.
Unfortunately I can’t review the enlarged version of the first picture shown here on cryptomundo. But it was this picture that was printed in the European magazine “mysteries” (Bürgin, Luc (2006) “Tasmanischer Tiger fotografiert” In: “mysteries” 4, 8-10+ 59). By the way this was the only European magazine to do so.
Well, Chris, you are certainly a lot closer to the situation than I am here in Kentucky. I can’t pass judgement on the photos themselves, not having seen even the distorted copies. I’m keeping an open mind – partly, I’m sure, because I want so much for the story to be true :D. It just seems to me that the photos were handled in such a clumsy and suspicious way. But I guess that since Herr Emmerichs is neither a professional photographer nor a professional wildlife biologist, maybe he just did not know what to do once he found that he had photographed a supposedly extinct animal.
At any rate I wish him success on his current venture.
I wonder if the contagious facial cancer that is wiping out the Tasmanian devils could also affect the thylacines? That is a terribly disturbing idea. I’ve been following that story closely at Where Light Meets Dark. I wonder if breeding-age uninfected devils should be captured and situated in widely separated zoos around the world, to provide a sort of safety net for the species? Of course that is not a solution, but those devils could be held in trust “just in case” a solution is not found in time to save the wild population.
If that terrible disease can affect thylacines, they may be doomed just on the brink of their rediscovery.
Hi kittenz,
yes, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is very serious. Devils have already been shipped to mainland Australian zoos for the purpose of breeding in a disease-free environment – well, let’s hope it’s disease free!
In addition, four devils have been sent to Denmark as a gift to Crown Princess Mary. Apart from those four, at this time, there are no other devils outside Australia.
In sad news, the disease was found to have breached a safety zone at Trowunna wildlife park – a Tasmanian sanctuary doing all it can to maintain a healthy devil population. In fact, the devils given to Crown Princess Mary came from there, and I only learned recently that there is a very small possibility that one of these may be amongst the devils I photographed on my visit there some time ago. I wasn’t going to ask them to check the paperwork for as trivial an enquiry as that though! 🙂
In good news though, the plight of the devil is gaining frequent and international attention. I believe Nick Mooney was recently (or still is?) in the United States seeking funding and support for research into DFTD. Warner Brothers, have permitted plush toys of their iconic “Taz” cartoon character to be produced and sold in the hopes of raising research funds.
State and federal governments are contributing to the cost of research, but their contributions are nearing their expiry dates. The Greens political party is calling on the state government to appeal internationally for scientific assistance in searching for a cure.
I tell you what – “duskshade” wrote in the comments above, of the thylacine, “it was a tragic, dumb way to lose a magnificent animal.” – thank God there has been a complete turnaround in attitude now that it is time to save that animal we called “devil”.
Kittenz – I would suspect that DFTD would not affect thylacines, as the most likely cause for infection is when one devil attacks another which has the infection. In doing so, they introduce infected cancer cells from the lesions and tumours of the infected individual, into their own body.
As thylacines are known to hunt their own prey, it is unlikely they would be infected in this way. Even if a thylacine ate an infected devil, it is unlikely the disease would spread from that thylacine to any other.
However, if *all* thylacines started eating the ever increasing number of weakening, infected devils, then maybe yes, there might be a problem.
Some have also expressed the opinion that using baits (possibly for foxes) may have been the trigger for DFTD in the first place. It’s hard to know whether fox baits would have a significant effect on thylacines. Media releases relating to the practice emphasise that the baits are targeted for the intended species (foxes), but critics claim other species (such as devils and quolls – both also carnivores) may well also take the baits and be affected. Logically, if the thylacine still exists, it may also be susceptible to taking fox baits.
If I’m remembering the photos correctly, I think Cryptomundo readers pointed out that the striping pattern didn’t really match up to any existing photograph or taxidermied specimen of a Thylacine. Also, the head was obscured by brush, so it was impossible to tell for sure what it was. Most people were betting on a small dog painted with stripes.
Fred Facker,
Are you remembering the Emmerichs photos, or are you thinking of the Chaotika photo? I (along with quite a few others) thought that the Chaotika photo looked like it may have been a painted dog.
Kittenz,
I looked it up. I’m thinking Chaotika. Guess I missed the Emmerichs.
youcantryreachingme,
I hope you are right about the thylacines not being susceptible to the devil facial tumor disease. I can imagine a sad scenario in which a couple of young thylacines run across an infected devil and harass it (as young hooligans of many species will do) and then are bitten by the devil but do not die, thereby becoming infected themselves. I guess that the susceptibility of thylacines to the devil disease would depend on a lot of factors. Since no one is sure where the devil disease came from, it’s not known yet whether it will infect other animals, is it? Or is it pretty certain that only devils become infected? I confess I do not know nearly as much about it as I would like.
I’m glad to know that Warner Brothers has given permission for Taz plush animals to be used to raise funds to study the disease and save the devils, but a company the size of Warner Brothers surely could do more. After all, the Taz is one of their most beloved (and profitable) characters. Maybe if they begin receiving hundreds of emails and letters askiing that they do more, they will, if only for the publicity. If they were to pledge even a small percentage of the royalties from their licensed Taz products, that would be a tremendous amount of money.
Or possibly a public service announcement could be aired on Animal Planet, featuring The Taz, urging people to donate to fund the research into the disease. Think of the many millions of viewers of Animal Planet, worldwide.
Where would one send donations? Do you have an address?
Nasty-tempered little rascals or not, I for one, think the Devils are adorable. They rather remind me of my children. 😉 😀
These pictures are a fake, and a bad one. Don’t know why people continue to discuss it. The hoax was done using an old Fley Picture taken at a Tasmanian Zoo.
For the real thing about tasmanian tigers, I recommend reading an on-line book at Magnificent Survivor – Continued Existence of the Tasmanian Tiger.
mobofg – I agree the photos very much resemble the Fleay photo, but tell me – how did they create the hoax?
Ricoh confirmed the photos could not have been uploaded onto the camera – so they took a photo of something.
Col Bailey saw the exact location, down to the creek and the log which features in the photos. He cast no doubt about the scene being genuine.
Do you really think Klaus and Birgit – who arrived in Tasmania only because their planned holiday to Sri Lanka was cancelled a few days before by the Indian Ocean Earthquake of 2004 – arrived in Tasmania on February 1st, started the overland track from Cradle Mountain carrying nothing but backpacks, canceled that trip and ordered hire cars to be delivered, decided instead to drive down the west coast, then across from Queenstown towards Derwent Bridge — all just so that they could somehow take a photo of a printout of Fleay’s photo in the middle of the South West / Franklin / Gordon Rivers / Cradle Mountain National Park? They barely know how to use a computer, even today!
I’ll grant the resemblance to Fleay’s photograph, and the colouration (of even the originals) are somewhat perplexing. But the feasibility of a hoax is just as troubling.