Thylacine Tracker Col Bailey, 85, Dies

The Sunday Tasmanian of 27 February 2022 introduced that Col Bailey, 85, has handed away after an extended sickness.

 

Colin Raymond “Col” Bailey (born 1937 in Adelaide, Australia) was an Australian naturalist and Thylacine fanatic. He firmly believed within the continued existence of the species and wrote three books on Thylacines describing sightings and the proof of their presence. He grew up on a farm in rural South Australia. As a result of Bailey’s outstanding curiosity within the Tasmanian tiger he later moved to Tasmania the place he lived on the time of his demise. Though he looked for the Thylacine for over 50 years, he solely moved to New Norfolk, Tasmania, together with his spouse Lexia in 1990.

In 2005, one of many 12 months’s largest story involved pictures that have been by no means printed. In March, 2005, unpublished pictures of a supposed dwelling Tasmanian thylacine have been all the fashion within the Australian press. The Tasmanian Authorities appealed to a Victorian man, who claimed to have pictures of a dwell Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, to make them obtainable for forensic examination.

The person’s brother – described solely as a vacationer visiting from Germany, reportedly stumbled throughout the animal, presumed extinct for nearly 70 years, earlier that 12 months within the Tasmanian wilderness. The person stated his brother had used a digital digital camera to snap two photos displaying the animal’s distinctive striped again. The pictures have been briefly proven to the director of the Tasmanian Museum and Artwork Gallery, Invoice Bleathman, and a wildlife biologist with the state’s Division of Main Industries, Nick Mooney, who agreed the fuzzy photographs in all probability did present a Tasmanian Tiger.

However when additional examinations have been denied, claims of a hoax or a intelligent pc enhancement surfaced.

The Australian media then quoted Col Bailey, who had his personal sighting in 1967, as saying he was “very skeptical” of digital photos, not solely as a result of he had seen too many fakes, however as a result of he has even fabricated his personal to show how simple they’re to make.

After all of the media consideration, the German vacationer merely went underground.

Bailey made some vital historic discoveries (see right here) linking the Churchill cabin (pictured above) with the seize of the final Thylacine, Benjamin (seen under).

On 7 September 1936 solely two months after the species was granted protected standing, “Benjamin,” the final recognized thylacine, died from publicity on the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart.

 

Col Bailey’s books

Tiger Tales (2001)

Shadow of the Thylacine (2010)

Lure of the Thylacine (2013)

 

 

In 2016, Bailey was interviewed by The Weekly Instances’ reporter Sarah Hudson, reflecting on his final days within the quest. He couldn’t go on the lengthy hikes any longer, however stated “a number of instances he has heard their name within the bush, the final time in 2008.”

Col has additionally grow to be the unofficial level of contact for others who’ve skilled sightings, with a whole bunch of stories over time. “I’d say about 10 per cent of these are spot on. It’s a must to choose the individual and whether or not they’re real,” he stated.

At one level he’d obtain about 30 stories a 12 months, however by 2016, it has dropped to about 5.

“It’s unimaginable to say why. Perhaps there are much less tigers left, however I imagine the animal has moved additional again into the wilderness,” Col stated six years in the past. “There are huge, untapped areas of Tasmania, tough areas, the place nobody goes, which I believe is an efficient factor.”

Col Bailey sounded philosophical in the direction of the tip.

“It’s higher they’re left on their very own and so they survive.”

 

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