Australia's most wanted — dead or extinct? The hunt for a striped ghost.
Recorded by pioneers as far back as 1805, the Tasmanian tiger has become an intensely mystifying Australian icon, whose entire existence has become the stuff of both fable and legend. This program investigates a chequered past and puts the speculation into perspective, taking into account the tragic culling and ‘bounty era’ where the carnivorous creatures were thought to be solely responsible for a considerable loss of farmers’ livestock. Balancing the facts with personal reflections from Tasmanian locals, scientists and other informed practitioners, The Tasmanian Tiger is a thought-provoking and revealing look at the extraordinary life and death of one of Australia’s most mysterious marsupials.
Editing
Sparse archival footage woven with modern testimony
Sound
Unsettling score amplifies the eerie absence
Writing
Narration refuses easy answers, embraces ambiguity
Director
Craig Wellington
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The last confirmed thylacine died September 7, 1936—now National Threatened Species Day in Australia.
Despite official extinction, Tasmania still reports hundreds of sightings yearly; the thylacine became a ghost that haunts Australian conservation conscience.
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