THYLACINE SIGHTINGS 1953 - 1990

SMITH'S RATING SYSTEM FOR THYLACINE SIGHTINGS

"The Tasmanian Tiger - 1980". (National Parks & Wildlife Service, May 1981) Steven J. Smith. pp. 126 - 128

1. OBSERVER'S RELIABILITY	POINTS: 1O
A. Familiarity With Native Fauna
i. little or no knowledge of Tasmanian animals	0
ii. quite familiar with most Tasmanian animals	3
iii. very experienced with most Tasmanian animals	5
B. Credibility Within Community
i. unknown or poor credibility according to one source (may be interviewer)	0
ii. fair to good according to one source	3
i. good or excellent according to two or more sources	5

2. CIRCUMSTANCES OF REPORT	POINTS: 10
A. Distance Between Observer And Animal
i. greater than 500 metres	0
ii. 100 to 500 metres	1
iii. 50 to 99 metres	2
iv. less than 50 metres	3
B. Duration of Observation
i. less than 1 second	0
ii. 1 to 5 seconds	1
iii. 5.1 to 10 seconds	2
iv. more than 10 seconds	3
C. Visibility
i. poor visibility due to weather (rain, fog, snow, dark); obscured (dense undergrowth, landscape feature)	0
ii. good visibility (line of vision not interrupted or obscured)	2
D. Number of Observers
i. one	0
ii. more than one	2

3. DESCRIPTION OF ANIMAL	POINTS: 25
A. General Body Colour
i. no description; black	0
ii. dark brown	3
iii. sandy yellow; grey; light brown	5
B. Height from Shoulder
i. no description; less than 300 mms; greater than 750 mms	0
ii. large dog; 600 to 750 mms	3
iii. medium dog; 300 to 600 mms	5
C. Body Markings
i. no description; spots	0
ii. dark vertical stripes on torso	5
D. Distribution of Stripes
i. no description	0
ii. stripes extended from behind shoulders to base of tail and from backbone nearly to belly	2
E. Head
i. no description	0
ii. dog or wolf-like with small erect rounded ears	3
F. Tail
i. no description; thin; bushy; long-haired	0
ii. smooth; tapering; pole-like; very thick at butt	5

4. CORRELATION WITH OTHER SIGHTINGS SINCE 1934	POINTS: 5
A. Geographic Correlation
i. no reports recorded within radius of 40 km	0
ii. reports recorded within radius of 10 - 40 km	1
iii. reports recorded within radius of 0 - 10 km	2
A. Time Correlation (if other sightings recorded within radius of 40 km)
i. no reports recorded within 30 years	0
ii. reports recorded in the previous 5 - 10 yers	2
iii. reports recorded in the previous 5 years	3

TOTAL SCORE	RATINGS
38 - 50	very good
25 - 37	good
15 - 24	fair
0 - 14	questionable

RATINGS FOR SIGHTINGS WITHIN THIS REPORT

Sighting Identification	Points	Rating
3*	50	very good
4*	50	very good
1*	49	very good
2*	49	very good
8	43	very good
5	38	very good
6	38	very good
7	37	good
9*	28	good
10*	28	good