Despite the thylacine being extinct on mainland Australia for centuries, it's believed they existed in Tasmania until around the 1930s. But the 'Tasmanian tiger' is believed by most people in Australia to be well and truly gone.
Regardless of all the scientific evidence, it hasn't stopped some people from getting all worked up over a reported sighting. A Melbourne man, known only as Greg, says he is 100 percent sure he saw the four-legged marsupial walking around at approximately 6.30pm one evening.
He told the Leader: "There's no doubt in my mind. I had never in my life seen anything like this - it was strolling across the road.
"It had a long, straight rod of a tail. I thought, 'That's strange.'"
Since the 1930s, there have been thousands - literally thousands - of reports of people claiming to have seen a thylacine. If this latest report turns out to be true, it would be remarkable considering the creatures haven't been on the mainland for a very long time.
However, a man who has spent the better part of two decades hunting thylacines says their absence from the mainland doesn't mean the claim should be discounted. Michael Moss told news.com.au: "There have been alleged sightings in Western Port going back decades. Scientifically it's possible."
While Greg's claim will most likely be filed away in the 'Reported Sighting' bin, three blokes have recently come forward with a much more credible report. The Booth Richardson Tiger Team came forward with video footage of their encounter with the elusive marsupial.
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They reportedly set up more than a dozen cameras in Maydena, Tasmanian, and changed their location every fortnight to have the best possible chance of catching a Tassie Tiger on film. Adrian 'Richo' Richardson made the bold claim: "I don't think it's a thylacine, I know it's a thylacine."
Greg Booth, who's also a part of the BRRT, had a personal run-in with one on Good Friday in 2015, telling ABC News: "I couldn't believe it. I couldn't sleep for days afterwards. It's ears were pointed and it had white around the eyes with dark brown eyes set back in the skull of the animal.
A killer Tasmanian Tiger in the late 1800s. Credit: Creative Commons
"[Before I saw it] I never believed in them. It's marvellous what you can take note of when it's in front of you."
Local wildlife expert Nick Mooney also told the national broadcaster that their claim isn't as far-fetched as most people would assume. He said: "This footage I saw some months ago now and had a chance to analyse.
"I think based on anatomy, movement, behaviour size, I think it is perhaps a one-in-five chance it's a thylacine."
A 20 percent chance that they stumbled across something that has been reportedly extinct for more than half a century? Hmm, those odds aren't bad.
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Sources: Leader, ABC, news.com.au