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The last Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) is photographed in Hobart in 1936. The female, about 12 years old, died later that year.
It looks like what it is – a creature long dead. But the animal lying on its side at the National Museum of Australia is facing a new kind of threat. Wearing masks, gloves and lab coats to protect themselves from the chemicals, conservators have just pulled the crudely skinned thylacine carcass from a display case filled with liquid the colour of over-brewed tea.
Among them is Briton Simon Moore, a freelance expert in the conservation of natural science specimens.
He has been called upon by Canberra's National Museum of Australia to assess the thylacine, which has become so fragile it has been removed from public display. Even the vibrations from people walking past the plate glass container were damaging it.
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"We've been concerned about the condition of the thylacine, which is very important for us and for the nation," said Nicki Smith, the museum's deputy manager of conservation. "And we want to make sure we're doing the best that we can for it."
Ms Smith said the Tasmanian tiger was first removed from display in 2002, when the solution became so cloudy it was difficult to see the animal inside. The preserving solution was changed and the specimen returned to public display in 2005 but the liquid again turned cloudy and it was removed.
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