An image of one of the animals from behind which he says shows it's not hopping. Photo / Supplied
An image of one of the animals from behind which he says shows it's not hopping. Photo / Supplied
The highly anticipated photos of a Tasmania tiger family have been released and the man who captured them says he's "absolutely confident" at least one is a thylacine.
Neil Waters released a video last week teasing fans about the photos which he claimed were proof the extinct animals were still alive.
But the tinny-sipping South Australian Tassie tiger hunter, who filmed the clip wandering around northern Tasmanian bushland, was quickly shutdown, with the museum there ruling the photos were likely of a pademelon.
The night image Neil Waters has captured. Photo / Supplied
In the series of images, the one photo Waters is confident is a tiger joey, experts believe is probably a Tasmanian pademelon joey.
Waters says these signs include the way the tail sits, the fact the feet are broad and there are four toe pads with claws.
He says the animal also has short feet like a Tasmanian tiger and "shiny hocks", with evidence of striping on the tail.
The photo Waters is hanging everything on, zoomed in. Photo / Supplied
An image of one of the animals from behind which he says shows it's not hopping. Photo / Supplied
Waters says the head is "rather broad for a pademelon".
"It must be the boofiest pademelon head around," he says.
While Waters says the larger animals in the photos - which he claims to be the mother and father - aren't giving much away, he says the joey says it all.
"But why the hell would a baby thylacine, which I am absolutely confident that this animal is, be following a pademelon and be being followed by a pademelon?" he asks viewers.
"Questions do arise about this bizarre revelation.
"Here we have a carnivore hanging out with two herbivores, can somebody please explain to me why this is occurring? I'd love to know."
Nick Mooney, Honorary Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, last week said that based on the physical characteristics shown in the photos, the animals were "very unlikely to be thylacines".
Neil Waters has spoken to several people to get their expert opinions. Photo / Supplied
"With all due respect I disagree with Nick Mooney's opinion and that's fine - that's perfectly OK - and he encourages me in his report to get as many opinions as I can because his is only one opinion," Waters says in the new video.
