Footprints Discovered on Tasmanian Tiger Expedition (Thylacine)

the Tasmanian Tiger has long captivated the imagination of mankind it was with us through all time then seemingly disappeared Into Thin Air but with millions of hectares of uninhabited land tasmania's Wilderness holds potential for a Remnant population of this fascinating creature in 2022 I led a 9-day Expedition deep into the southwest of Tasmania to survey an area in which thines were known to exist years after the last one had died in captivity despite spending eight nights in the area setting trail cameras and studying Footprints the Expedition failed to produce any evidence of the thylo scene's continued existence but there was one thing I gained from the trip and that is the knowledge that there is far too much unexplored Wilderness out there to ever be sure of its demise this would warrant further investigation but first I'd need to head to the archives to see what information I could dig up on the official government funded Expeditions I discovered a box full of original maps and documents from the three official police investigations these Expeditions were undertaken over the course of 2 years and many of the findings including plaster casts are now held on display in museums with this information I plan on reinvestigating these Expeditions and bringing to light the areas searched by the men who dedicated their lives to save this precious animal starting with the first trip based in the northwest of the state encompassing an area between the Arthur and pman rivers this trip was led by Trooper Summers who had previously seen the tracks of two thos scenes between the Rocky and interview Rivers where many sightings have continued to [Music] occur good morning folks welcome back to another video we're out here on the beautiful west coast of tazzy at Kina and a couple of BLS you might know this one right here this is Levi oh hi folks and uh couple of new people here we've got uh Kurt knows me I'm Kurt and we've got Mr Miller Wilson how we going and for the trip hey yeah it's going to be a fun little one we've uh arranged for the lads we're going to be going on a cruise down the river and then we're going to be heading uh in land on along the coast looking for some thilosene so should be a pretty sick little trip so we're just doing a bit of last minute packing we got the rafts going on cuz uh we're hoping that we're going to do a bit of pack rafting down a river um if there's enough flowing it we were looking at the satellite imagery and it looks like there's some big boulders and it might be dry in sections but time will tell and oh time would tell I don't think any of us could have predicted the hardships and challenges to be faced by this trip but they certainly would be matched by a diverse range of wild scenery unexpected discoveries and a tale of Great Adventure so off we left cruising the human pine studded banks of the pman River and as an eagle guided us Downstream we arrived at the coast where we left the passengers and began our journey into the wild we'd now be following an overgrown track to take us Inland 15 km to the abandoned mining fields of the interview River climbing steeply we gained a view of the Southern Ocean which between us in Argentina is the longest uninterrupted stretch of ocean on the planet what a [Music] view the track in some sections became impossible to follow due to the regrowth from a bushire some years earlier but tracks are overrated [Music] anyway how you boys feeling whatever a rope into good mate the pain in my shoulders is distracting me from the pain in me legs CO's just gone to pull off his lunch bag that he had hanging off the side of his bag and that's all that's left of it there goes our caramel slce oh no the scrub I was hiking for the scrub ripped it open and took all these snacks don't Litter guys don't pull the e that's it so we've just made it up to the top of the hill and we finally found the four-wheel drive track so we're going to have a bite to eat here and refuel before we head on we got at least 12ks today if we want them so bit of a battle this afternoon fellas gear up she's going to be fun just just got our first sneak at sneak peek at sandy cap there in the distance as we come down into view River we'll be meeting back up with the ocean on the sandy cap and then hiking the coast back down to the pman heads on our last day so onwards we pushed over vast plains and stunning scenery but most importantly over wild unchanged habitats that were known homes to thines along the way we took advantage of any soft patches of ground to check the footprints but the lack of rain had rendered every Creek dry which would become a problem later on as we'd been walking in the hot sun for hours without any respite we investigated scat and found the area to be abundant with Devils wombat wabby and qu it's like mostly B actually really [Music] [Music] [Music] yeah pry [Music] buy mad man far out does look real good the water oh really not flowing up looks like it opens up [Music] again yes get the drama out it unold break for the boys Hallelujah got some water that's flowing yeah oh you right mate yeah out and it's slippery yeah just uh made it little murky onest with our first running creek in 6 hours we stopped to refuel and had a new found appreciation of such a simple element normally found so abundantly in this state then up and over the hill we went with the final patch of scrub before finally arriving at our destination the interview river which we were both relieved and disappointed relieved to finally be able to drop the heavy packs but there was no room for four persons to camp and our outlook on rafting this tiny stream the following day did not look good where are we going to camper these boys are going to kill us oh no the end of us so this Trip's throwing us another curve ball and basically we can't camp anywhere along the river we went searching down that way for a few hundred M there's no good places to camp so we're going to have to go back up the hill a little bit where there's some low button grass fill up our water and go set up up there exactly do you know what I mean like something on the way like mate I know like we've got a walk tomorrow I I give a about tomor get me to the river so funny that's the question Kurt where are we going to be tomorrow night mate I have no idea but we'll find out tomorrow so stay tuned it's going to be an absolute Adventure the definition the definition of Adventure means outcome unknown outcome unknown so it's going to be crazy it's going to be wild it's going to be painful well for me at least but you get through it it's everything in life you know you got to persevere through all the hard times and then you know you get something beautiful at the end I hope I hope we can give you something beautiful tomorrow night mate oh look at that that's a good idea yeah cool little bottles glass bottles you get from um shiploads perfect for putting olive oil in and what else gold d half a kilo I had to carry for this WOW n it's 300 it's going to feel like half a kilo I eat it good luck Boys best of luck the best sty of Hunter win the lads have just taken off to um go and set up their two Trail camps and uh I guess we'll follow suit soon trying to figure out where might be good here cuz I mean it is Big open Button grass planes but there's not a lot of real tracks or pads to kind of set stuff up we are camped right in the middle of it so I've decided to go with this tree here gone for a double whammy so you can see this one here it's going to point out and we got this beautiful pad that runs along here so anything that's going to be coming along here at night re activated by this one and then we've got another pad which runs from up there down here so this area seems like it does get a fair bit of activity so give set these up and see how we go with them I reckon I reckon this spot's as good as any it's pretty wide button grass low hunting grounds animal tracks everywhere I reckon we're in for a pretty good show tonight should be good if we don't get a thler tonight I reckon I'm going to have to say they're extinct how dare you they have to be yeah this is the spot mind you it was down along the coast where they were uh spotted we'll be there tomorrow night tomorrow night all going well morning I'm just heading up to uh get the trail cams see if we got anything on them last night so I didn't really hear much last night in the way of uh Wildlife it's very quiet here in the Valley but um we'll get back to camp and get some Brey sorted and check what we got on these things doesn't look like I got anything on that one I just a couple of Clips throughout setup and when I went and picked it up yep yeah just the setup ones too so nothing came along those Trails during the night how's Kurt this morning did you get any sleep mate yeah it was good yeah the morning came too soon didn't it so we've had Brey we're just in the process of breaking up camp now and then we're going to slowly make our way down to the coast and hopefully pack raft it if we can find a bit of flow in that uh interview River but the goal today will be to make it to the coast find somewhere safe to Camp cuz I think we got a bit of weather coming in tomorrow so we might want to set the top up and have a base to explore from so Camp was broken and we turned our backs on what was to be the most forgiving part of the landscape we were to encounter that day it was anyone's guess where when and if we would be able to utilize our pack rafts but we took our time each occupied by our own thoughts as we traveled [Music] Downstream shortcuts were proposed and successful and before long we were able to relieve our backs of our heavy packs just get the occasional pool that you can paddle through but mostly walking it is what it is we know we're heading in the right direction perfect through here this what be nice if it stayed like this the whole way this is probably one of the coolest things I've ever done he really yeah I'm actually loving this that's sick hopefully it gets better for us such magic lands and it be down a place that no one has really pack rafted in has anyone ever even packraft I don't think anyone would have pack rafted this there's no reason to yeah so special hey [Music] really good luck with it sunny we'll all have to face it ah what a mess we've got about another K left to uh this type of forest and I think it'll start turning a bit more rain foresty and hopefully we'll be done with all of this trash but you never know as the log jams continued the spirits slowly deflated at this rate we would not make the coast by nighttime so once we hit the rainforest we hatched a plan out of the river to utilize the button grass plaines in which would take us directly to the coast or so we thought she's early days yet but this could be easier than what we were expecting I hate saying stuff like that cuz some evil plan will pop up and give you hell for an hour or two but look at this just open so passing through giant eucalyptus trees and an under story dominated by native Laurel and man ferns we made our way out onto the button grass PL PL this was the life at this rate we would make the coast in no time but what's an adventure without a surprise poor Kurt's legs had been in pain since late yesterday and the slug we had endured today had put his body under extreme fatigue he was done and being high up on the planes we were not in any position to camp the only option was to carry Kurt's bag in which Levi and I began taking it in turns the hardest part when carrying 2 25 kg packs on you is not the weight it's trying to find safe places for your feet to land in between when traveling across massive Tusc of button grass but when the button grass gives way to head high tea tree which gives way to head high [Music] everything pretty hectic we just uh we we were hoping to work our way through the button grass right down to the coast but the scrub got too thick and CT collapsed completely out of energy his legs are just rooted uh so we've made a be line for the river again going to inflate the rafts potentially not sure yet we'll just have to assess when we get down there at least we'll be safe for like um Camp if need be yeah we just got to get ourselves safe get Kurt rested up and get some food into him he said he had a pretty mad hunger going on so get the get the lad some food those poles don't flip forward on me yep that it Yep this is so pretty though I'm glad you're enjoying that still CT oh M Paradise I'd rather be right now it is Paradise sometimes it's just painful Paradise mate it's a dangerous place can take your life in an instant that's true now you be careful on that Cliff up there mate so because of all the rock hopping involved it's pretty well damn near impossible to carry Kurt's bag so Levi and I have developed a system where one of us will go ahead two 200 M or so leave their bag then back track and grab Kurt's bag and uh if the other one overtakes empty-handed then they'll overshoot the next checkpoint drop their bag and vice versa haven't sweat this much all day it's bloody such a a mission today's been insane like I can't imagine how hard it is for those two boys we really threw them in the deep end but uh you know I wasn't expecting any of this to be a fraction of as hard as it has been the scrub is just insane the river was terrible for rafting even the four-wheel drive track yesterday was pretty well overgrown so man it's been a hell of a couple of days that's for sure if we can just make the coast tonight I think we'll be out to ease some of that pain and hopefully enjoy some of the rest of the trip so after doing no less than 20 bag drops over the remaining 4 km we finally arrived at the coast just in time for sunset as we climbed the sand Junes every aspect of the landscape was raw and untouched but a giant miden comprised of shells bone and tools left by the ancient aboriginals stood as a stark reminder of those who called this place home long before us so we're just trying to find somewhere to Camp Levi said he found a spot here way up in this sand June so I'm heading up it boys down there setting up their trail cams so finally got camp set up up in the sand Junes just blowing an absolute Gale but we uh managed to find couple of spots hard up against the bush basically got no time to eat or anything they're all so exhausted so I'm having a cold dinner wash it down with a bit of chocolate and then a massive sleep hoping that tomorrow will be a hell of a lot easier than the last two days have been oh good morning oh that was a rough night the wind was blowing straight through here and somehow all this sand managed to get in here and every time the the tent would blow up the sand would like pop and spray me in the back of the face Miller's just saying that he's uh he got a shot of a tazzy devil last night which is pretty cool and I actually set the camera up right there so I saw that you had it there cuz see him just there oh yeah wow and then he just runs past real quick that's sick I'll see if I've got any more oh yeah there we go oh what the hell epic is that a different one it might be it looks bigger maybe that's so cool wow that's what I wanted to film yeah you finally got it you were really keen on a devil I was really Keen yeah and I actually moved the camera trap from where I set it further down there just cuz there was so many tracks here yeah it looked Prime yeah yeah oh that's awesome well done man so so freaking insane out here we just it's like we're on an alien planet camera number one nothing got something here we got a nice WABE that's pretty cool a picture of him too that I think that's a a wombat up there too yeah got a one bat what the hell is that thing that must that must be a wombat or I think it might be a devil yeah I think that's a devil h that's awesome I literally just sat my trail cam on this rock pointing towards this little grassy section cuz I thought oh well it's a marsupio lawn it's a small one but surely they'll come along and have a graze and yeah got all sorts but no tiger it's interesting that I got a devil on there because the devil's not there for the uh the grass so yeah how cool that's crazy so cool this place is nuts it's like we're in Jurassic Park mate just after a quick breakfast we began to explore this fascinating area climbing up the massive sand dunes I noticed on one of the pig face plants a huge Harvest of edible fruits these sweet and salty tasting fruits are not too dissimilar from a kiwi fruit and the boys were happy to indulge in a little side brunch that's sweet yeah they're edible B wow they breakfast is served they are good look at them all turn out yeah not poison boy it's Sandy but Bon potato is sweet right they're salty sweet and salty M bit of bush Tucker mate look at that yeah they're definitely salty yeah you can taste the sea water in them they're good good so that that there's what's inside the fruit very similar to a uh like a strawberry or a kiwi fruit hybrid soaking in this place we began to realize we really were inside a Jurassic SE Park we were in a land that had continued to thrive against the elements away from the destruction of mankind we're out here anything is possible it's the perfect refuge for a thyine to [Music] inhabit [Music] [Music] m just heading down to the river to get some more water before we are ready to pack up and depart this place it's been a freaking crazy 12 hours or however long we've been here it's just full of wildlife like I've never seen anything like this before teaming with game but uh yeah we've got to start heading down the coast because the boat will pick us up tomorrow at lunchtime and we don't want to be stressing tomorrow to make it so we'll put in whatever work we can today so there's a bit less tomorrow so with our homes on our backs we said goodbye to the this sanctuary and hope to find Camp further down the coast hopefully again with a running stream the rocky outcrop Granite country gave way to slate Court sites some of which were formed over a billion years ago my super Lawns dotted the landscape and we enjoyed walking through a park-like experience much different to the previous 2 days of [Music] travel Kurt although still in pain had recovered enough to carry his own pack and a relief was felt by all that we would make the fery tomorrow on [Music] time [Music] we came across a rare flowing Creek and I was analyzing a series of impressions in the sand when I noticed this peculiar series leading towards the water like nothing I had ever seen before the prints were large and featured a series of claw marks in the top of the print followed by a Long Hill look at this look at those well I thought it was wombat but look it's got It's got the thing at the back like the tiger this one yeah come back here stand back here and you can see the the tail bit on the footprint the Tigers did that the tail in which I am referring to is actually the hill as outlined in this reward poster created by Jeremy Griffith in 1972 whilst the poster does disclaim don't look for the Long Hill as it rarely shows it's not uncommon to see it being used in images and videos this is also featured on the plaster cast taken in 1808 which are verified casts and part of the official Museum Victoria collection what else could it be mate riddle me that the paws are right look at it there turns in on itself what is that that there come from up there and travels along here but you can see the shape that I'm talking about it's very long there the the pad's up there but then you've got that back bit the only thing I'm going to say against it is the distance between the yeah but it could could be a juvenile could be smaller so we've debated about whether we could stay here the night but it's still pretty early it's only 2:00 so what we think we're going to do is continue heading down walk for another couple of hours there's a creek similar to size of this hopefully there's some water there that we can drink and then that'll only leave 3 or 4 km to do tomorrow morning to be back at the pyman by lunch time which is a bit of a shame I feel like this spot would have been awesome for the trail camps especially with this little thoroughfare that the animals use over there but it's just too early for us to pull up he's been on the track yeah look at it there's no there's no hair in that it from meat that that's a thler turd oh there is a little hair in it down the bottom it's good hairy he's had a mainly Seafood diet they say there's a Twist in them don't they yeah Twisted well this one snapped at the twist what do you think it is M CU I saw two before we even got to that Creek I saw Kurt work walk down the path just beforehand so did Kurt throw it out of his pocket Diddy was that from the button grass planes I wasn't going to say pocket after a few more kilometers of following the abandoned four-wheel drive track we arrived at our estimated destination there was just one massive problem it was the largest of the remaining creeks and it was dry as a bone a heavy rain then began to kick in and we decided we had no choice but to Camp here regardless of the water situation and just as soon as we had set up the clouds parted and our new campsite became a sight for sore eyes that's absolutely ridiculous got this private patch world class Jurassic Park [Music] this Camp having a private swimming pool I decided I was due for a wash and by the time ID came out Levi had caught us all dinner holy crap that thing's massive it's a big fell that's the biggest cray I've ever seen look at the colors on it that'll give you the juice to get out of here Kurt it's alive anyway fresh from the tazzy ocean yeah he was a good size cray for eating cuz the males have nice big legs on them it's nice with just a little bit of charcoal yeah we don't have garlic so I've got to me do it good be Bree D [Music] anyway little more expensive so we've got some uh cray bait and we're going to go for a walk about a k away to go and check Creek if there's any water or not but along the way we'll be looking for a place to set up the trail camps for tonight and then that way tomorrow morning we can pick them up as we head back through towards the river it's devastating yep that's it no water beautiful back at Camp Levi had volunteered to walk the 3 km back to the creek with water a selfless act in which we were all over the moon with he's really taking another one for the team it's uh 10 minutes to Sunset and he's off he's gone back to the water thanks mate we owe you one Absol Legend soon after Sunset heavy winds picked up and threatened to blow my tent all the way into the ocean despite me having already moved it into a more sheltered spot 2 and 1/2 hours after departing father Levi arrived back at Camp bearing gifts super full what wow oh wow we're going to sleep well tonight boys cheers is to everyone thanks so much l bloody legend thanks King I thought you going be sleep in bed silly Bast white up after a quick breakfast it was time to pack up camp for the last time [Music] it's time to get go check the uh the last chance at the trail cams pretty doubtful that anything came out last night in this Stormy Weather it was quite rainy and windy so I don't think we've got much chance but you never know could just be a tiger on him [Music] I don't have a chances that all right it doesn't look like it's been eight yeah nothing us leaving last night yeah moving further down the track both Levi and I were in for a nasty shock I swear I set my trail cam here yeah look that's the cray bit is yours gone mine's gone gone too yeah both Levi's camera and my camera is gone what I thought a devil must have got it but's gone too someone's come here reckon that would have to off that's so weird what the hell yeah his mine was there and I sat that rock against it said has been a devil and he's dragged him around that's mental someone have to pick them up I don't know yes they stand out no one no one's come through here man I think so I reckon there's only two things that could have happened what's that someone might have come through here and grabbed him or the Devils might have got into him with the devil's draging back yeah for sure I guess tie them up well yeah I've lost my I've lost my devil footage cheeky Little Devils could have been a tiger that's the thing I hate like this mystery yeah it's probably worth looking around here a bit but after an extensive search it was decided we just had to cut our losses the boys speculated that some old quad tracks near the site may have provided Clues to the camera's disappearance but they appeared to be apparent in my setting up of the camera the night before so somewhere out there there's either a devil or a tiger with two trail cameras in its stand containing potentially the only proof of its own existence distance just like that we leave the rugged wild west coast and the Sun comes back out ready to board our cruise ship back to society it's been an absolutely insane 4 days so much Adventure I think the boys have had a good time can't ask for much more really we packed a lot of stuff into this itinery it's good stuff [Music] [Music] how we doing right we [Music] survived [Music] 4 days in the bush how's everyone changed Miller looks about the same holy who's that guy mate no words no feeling no nothing been crazy totally new person yeah Levi hasn't changed a beard the same I think I look about the same as well bloody he's a new man that guy back there tell you what how the leg muscles oh oh man the I couldn't even get in the bloody car I felt like an 85y old ah she's down and [Music] dusted [Music] yeah

Channel: Rob Parsons

Views: 205,752

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Id: jVeS46dD6G0

Length: 50min 58sec (3058 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 31 2024