Paper short abstract:

The Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) is an allegedly extinct marsupial carnivore native to Australia, but, controversially, sightings continue. The energy of ‘believers’ could be harnessed to support biodiversity conservation and habitat protection, rather than dismissing their worldview as unscientific.

Paper long abstract:

The Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger, Thylacinus cynocephalus) was or is a marsupial carnivore native to Australia. The last scientifically authenticated individual died in the Hobart zoo (Tasmania) in 1936, but sightings continue throughout Australia. There is ongoing debate between those who do and do not believe that the species is extinct, but from a conservation perspective the argument can be seen as academic: both world views in fact support identical conservation aims. In the face of our current global extinction crisis, the Thylacine, dead or alive, is a conservation icon that furthers at least two valid approaches to conservation.

Firstly, the very possibility of live Thylacines still existing in the wild provides a strong argument for habitat conservation that would protect biodiversity regardless of the Thylacine; we cannot afford to take the risk of not acting. Secondly, to many people, the Thylacine is as real as is Father Christmas or as is the Devil to many of us. The energy of these people should be harnessed to support habitat and biodiversity conservation initiatives, rather than alienating them as unscientific. In the words of one informant, “[We need to] prove its existence once and for all because otherwise the habitat that it relies upon will be gone”. Most conservation programmes globally depend on collaboration between scientifically trained conservation biologists and local (often Indigenous) communities with different belief systems.

Rather than debating the veracity of particular worldviews, the aims of biodiversity conservation and habitat protection are better served by more inclusive, cross-cultural approaches.