THYLACINES IN THE NEWS

Remember the Thylacine

London Review of Books (blog)

The last dodo was sighted late in the 17th century near Mauritius, but the creature's place in popular culture was cemented by its appearance in Alice ...

CRYPTOLINK: Thylacines Gain Support For Continued Existence

A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me. 

One of the more fascinating creatures (to me anyway) known to have recently existed, the Thylacine looks like the front end of a dog welded to the back end of a cat with a kangaroo pouch thrown in.

The thylacine, Thylacinus cynocephalus, Greek for “dog-headed pouched one”) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger (because of its striped back) or the Tasmanian wolf. Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century. It was the last extant member of its family, Thylacinidae; specimens of other members of the family have been found in the fossil record dating back to the early Miocene.

From The Guardian

Zoologists hunting Tasmanian tiger declare ‘no doubt’ species still alive

Oliver Milman theguardian.com, Monday 11 November 2013

Team claims that it has ‘highly credible’ witnesses and has found animal faeces that could belong to the extinct thylacine.

t had been considered extinct for nearly 80 years, but the Tasmanian tiger has been declared alive and kicking by an intrepid group of British naturalists.

A team of investigators from the Centre for Fortean Zoology, which operates from a small farmhouse in north Devon, is currently in Tasmania hunting down clues to prove the thylacine, commonly known as the Tassie tiger, still exists.

The group claims to have gathered compelling evidence of the thylacine’s presence in remote parts of Tasmania’s north-west, despite the last known animal dying in Hobart Zoo on 7 September 1936.

Richard Freeman, zoological director of the organisation, told Guardian Australia he has “no doubt” the species still roams isolated areas of Tasmania.

“The area is so damn remote, there are so many prey species and we have so many reliable witnesses who know the bush that I’d say there is a reasonable population of them left,” he said. “I’d say there are more of them around in the world than Javan rhinos.” The World Wildlife Fund estimates that there are just 35 Javan rhinos left.

From Wikipedia

The thylacine is likely to have become near-extinct in mainland Australia about 2,000 years ago, and possibly earlier in New Guinea.The absolute extinction is attributed to competition from indigenous humans and invasive dingoes.

Although the thylacine had been close to extinction on mainland Australia by the time of European settlement, and went extinct there some time in the nineteenth century, it survived into the 1930s on the island state of Tasmania. They were rarely sighted during this time but slowly began to be credited with numerous attacks on sheep. This led to the establishment of bounty schemes in an attempt to control their numbers. The Van Diemen’s Land Company introduced bounties on the thylacine from as early as 1830, and between 1888 and 1909 the Tasmanian government paid £1 per head for dead adult thylacines and ten shillings for pups. In all they paid out 2,184 bounties, but it is thought that many more thylacines were killed than were claimed for. Its extinction is popularly attributed to these relentless efforts by farmers and bounty hunters. However, it is likely that multiple factors led to its decline and eventual extinction, including competition with wild dogs introduced by European settlers, erosion of its habitat, the concurrent extinction of prey species, and a distemper-like disease that also affected many captive specimens at the time. Whatever the reason, the animal had become extremely rare in the wild by the late 1920s. Despite the fact that the thylacine was believed by many to be responsible for attacks on the sheep, in 1928 the Tasmanian Advisory Committee for Native Fauna had recommended a reserve to protect any remaining thylacines, with potential sites of suitable habitat including the Arthur-Pieman area of western Tasmania.

Read on...

KARL SHUKER - THE NEW GUINEA THYLACINE: CRYING WOLF IN IRIAN JAYA?

Should cryptozoologists be seeking the thylacine in New Guinea rather than Tasmania and mainland Australia? Karl Shuker investigates the enigmatic dobsegna of Irian Jaya.

Read on...

CRYPTOZOOLOGY LINK: Happy 76th Thylacine day from the Grant Museum

I was very chuffed to be able to link to this fascinating piece by our old friend Jack Ashby of the Grant Museum. The CFZ and the Grant Museum go back several years, and Richard and I have twice lectured there. It is a smashing (and very fortean) collection. Check it out...

Happy 76th Thylacine day from the Grant Museum

By Jack Ashby

Another year has passed since the last known thylacine – one of the greatest icons of extinction – died of exposure. That makes 76 years today.

We have celebrated the thylacine here at the Grant Museum for some time. We have some fantastic specimens – including one of the only fluid preserved adults (with the added bonus of having been dissected by Victorian evolutionary giant Thomas Henry Huxley), and skeleton from the early 1900s, which belonged to Grant himself. The only recent thylacine-based activity that happened at the Museum was for all our thylacine-geek colleagues to watch The Hunter together, a film about a bounty-hunter hired to collect the last individual for an evil bio-tech company. It was brilliant.

Read on...

RANGE ROVER ADVERT FEATURES THYLACINE

Thylacine passes extinction test

People should stop wasting time and money looking for the Tasmanian tiger, according to new Australian research.

Dr Diana Fisher and Dr Simon Blomberg from the University of Queensland's school of biological sciences report their findings in a recent issue of Conservation Biology.

Since the last wild thylacine was captured in 1933, there have been ongoing searches and numerous unconfirmed sightings of the carnivorous marsupial.

But, says Fisher, such efforts are misguided.

"There's been more search efforts for the thylacine than any other mammal globally," she says.

"I think that's just a waste of money."

Read on...

THYLACINE SONG

"Thylacine" on the album "The Opium Wars or Love in Lieu of Laudanum" (2009) by Joy Shannon and the Beauty Marks. Joy's love song to the extinct marsupial wolf.
http://www.joyshannon.com/

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CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Thylacine footage from 1931

I was aware that there was film of the thylacine kept at Beaumaris Zoo at Hobart in 1931, but I was not aware that it had been taken by naturalist David Fleay (the first person to breed platypus) and until today I don't think that I had seen all of it.

THYLACINE EXTERMINATION

Centre for Fortean Zoology Australia have posted a chilling article on their site, suggesting that the extinction of the thylacine (if indeed it is extinct) is nothing more than a callous act of zoological genocide.

Read on!

Mike and Recbecca are doing so much good work on their site that starting next week there will be a round-up of all their postings here on the main blog for those who have missed them. Well done, guys.

THYLACINE FOOTAGE?

Over on their blog Centre for Fortean Zoology Australia have posted an intriguing piece of footage. Is this a thylacine?


You have got to check this out.

Mike and Rebecca's blog gets better and better with a whole slew of really important stories like this one. Which they got first!

Well done, guys.

CFZ AUSTRALIA: Centre for Fortean Zoology Australia: CFZ given first look at 'Tasmanian Tiger' pelt

Several months ago we were contacted by American Bill Warren with an incredible story - he claimed to have a Tasmanian Tiger pelt in his possession.

We were somewhat dubious as he was, after all, in America - but it was certainly not beyond the bounds of possibility considering several American museums have some very good Thylacine specimens in their collections. Why not a pelt of a highly prized extinct animal in private hands?

Bill emailed us the image above and we began a dialogue about the skin's authenticity.

We advised him that he would need to seek out verification the pelt was in fact of a 'marsupial wolf' before it could be sold, and agreed to keep the matter confidential until such time as Mr Warren went public with his story.

This week his tale is featured in an edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

He picked up the pelt for $5 at a garage sale - $5 is cheap for any kind of animal pelt, particularly one that could be of an extinct animal. The last time anything like it went to auction was in 2002 when a rug made of pelts was sold for $270,000 (that's Australian dollars) by the Tasmanian Museum.

We advised Mr Warren about that auction's results and again suggested he get the pelt tested/analysed by experts before seeking to sell it, and discussed the legalities of trading such a rare skin across borders, given the likelihood of strong interest from Australian museums should the skin be genuine.

Professor John Long - formerly of Museum Victoria in Melbourne and now based at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles - also told Bill that while the skin may appear at first glance to the Thylacine, genetic tests would be needed to confirm the skin's identity.

In our discussions with Bill, we also suggested the possibility his skin could be that of the vulnerable Zebra Duiker, a small deer-like animal native to Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. He was adamant it was not.

We'd love to believe it's a Thylacine, but the absence of tail skin, and the darkness and number of stripes leave the gate well and truly open to the possibility the skin is that of a Zebra Duiker.

At the recent CFZ Weird Weekend 2010, Dr Lars Thomas brought along a skin that had been bequested to a Danish Museum that he had been tasked to identify. At first glance, after Lars extracted it somewhat unceremoniously from a plastic bin bag, most mystery animal enthusiasts were adamant it was cryptozoology's Holy Grail - the Thylacine. But attendees were also aware of another possible identity for the skin, and over the course of the weekend it ultimately proved to be that of a Zebra Duiker. An important lesson learned!

Only hair and DNA can confirm the identity of Bill Warren's pelt. Thank you for sharing Bill, we await the results with interest!

MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: WERE THERE WOLVES WITH STRIPES IN HONG KONG IN THE 1930s?

Yes, “were there wolves with stripes in Hong Kong in the 1930s?” I am not misusing some obscure Chinese medicine; nor is this an early birthday present to myself (yes, fans, I am 44 on November 5th) Strictly speaking the article does not say it was a wolf with stripes, but for some reason we have a tiger-like wolf.

Here is the story from The Hong Kong Telegraph January 30, 1937:

Wolf Slain On Border May Be
Kowloon Tiger

Caused Men Shoot
Large Animal

Bitterly cold weather in the mountains regions of Kwangtung and Fukien may give a clue to the identity of the famous “Kowloon Tiger”.

Reports from Canton state that all manner of wild animals are being forced into the lowlands, and many of them are believed to be migrating towards warmer Hong Kong.

Shum Chun village is excited by news that Customs officers at the C.M.C blockhouse on the outskirts of the town have killed a large beast which Chinese may have taken for a tiger.

The Telegraph established telephonic communication with the blockhouse this morning and verified the report that a large animal, weighing approximately 110lbs. had been captured and killed.

The animal is not a tiger, but apparently a wolf of good size.

It had been prowling around the blockhouse for two or three days and is believed to have migrated from Fukien.The animal is said to resemble a tiger when seen at a distance. Several wolves have been shot at different periods in Hongkong territory [there were reports of sightings of wolves in Hong Kong territory during the building of the Kowloon-Canton railway from 1905-1910-R]

TIGER STORY DENIED

We are informed by the Inspector General of Police this morning that investigations have been made in the New Territories regarding the reports, current for many days, that a tiger has killed two people in the neighbourhood of Taiwaichuen village, and that the story has been found to be completely without foundation. No tiger has been reported in the vicinity, nor have any reports been received by police of deaths or injury to any person. (1)

There are one or two points here: what were the migrating patterns of Chinese wolves? Fukien (Fujian) province is several hundred miles N.E .of China. Also, to quote Dale Drinnon in answer to my question as to whether there were any reports of wolves with stripes in Asia: “No, but there are hyenas in Asia and hyenas can present appearance. Say “ Wolves with stripes” and most Cryptozoologists are conditioned to think “ Thylacines”. I need to have more information that you have given me to suggest going down THAT route.” (2) Dale wanted me to emphasise this declaimer that he has up to now ( 6.35pm Tuesday 2-11-10) not read this report.

A question dated January 2010 on Yahoo! Answers by Wolf-lover “ Do you get wolves in China?” was answered by nurnord (sic) Best Answer: “ Absolutely there are isolated population pockets of the Grey Wolf across south-west, western and the entire northern region of China” (3)

A report titled ` Report on New Territories 1899-1912` commented: “ A few small wolves still survive among the hills occasionally descending to commit depredations in the farm yards. (4) Is this the behaviour of a dhole, or even a thylacine?!

Taiwaicheun is between Sha Tin and Lion Rock

1.The Hong Kong Telegraph January 30th 1937 p.1
2. D.Drinnon E-mail to R.Muirhead November 2nd 2010
3.Yahoo! Answers. Do you get wolves in China? Resolved Question. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091229102550AAGudHm
4. Author unknown. Report on New Territories 1899-1912 p.52 (1912)

CFZ AUSTRALIA: A sobering reminder of how fragile many species are...

September 7, 1936 was a historic day for Australia's endemic wildlife.

It was a day of no return, not for some ground-breaking discovery or the passing of a famous celebrity, but rather the extinction of a species cursed by hysteria, greed and apathy.

For at least two million years, the thylacine – Tasmanian tiger – had roamed the Australian continent. Humans first came ashore some 46,000 years ago. Our megafauna began to decline, marking the start of our Earth’s 6th mass extinction. Unlike the last one, which finished off the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago, this one is not caused by a wandering asteroid or comet, super-volcano or other natural phenomenon. It is caused by us.

"Australia, we now know, was the first continent to be stripped of its giants … rhino-sized marsupial diprotodons, massive kangaroos, six-meter-long goannas and horned tortoises as long as a Volkswagen Beetle … Thus, in its first forty millennia, the sixth extinction ran a wild and deadly course, exterminating the world’s giants. Australia lost 95 per cent of its land-animal genera weighing more than forty-five kilograms…" Dr Tim Flannery.

As the sixth mass extinction progresses, the thylacine disappeared from the continent, about 3000 years ago, leaving only the Tasmanian tiger population still co-existing with the early Aborigines.

Since European colonisation on Tasmania in 1803, the 'tiger' was exhaustively shot or trapped by sheep farmers paranoid of the marsupial predator. Whole-scale extermination was encouraged by private and state bounties, and lucrative rewards from international museums and zoos. Competition with feral dogs and diseases among the remaining, weakened populations, all contributed to its demise.

The last confirmed record of a wild tiger came from a farmer who killed the animal in 1930.

Six years later the thylacine was finally granted legal protection. This came far too late. In the same year - on September 7, 1936 - the last surviving Tasmanian tiger on Earth died in Hobart’s Beaumaris Zoo after 12 years of captivity.

The thylacine was gone merely 131 years after the first European encountered it. In 1996, Australia declared September 7 as National Threatened Species Day, in commemoration of this tragic loss.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/rejoicing-amid-the-regrets-national-threatened-species-day-20090905-fbzz.html

PLEASE MR POSTMAN - A tiger in a box

Our postbag is always a rich and peculiar thing. In amongst the general detritus of everyday life such as telephone bills and final demands are a selection of arcane letters and packages that keep us sane. Today was no exception....

Bloggo reader and CFZ supporter Aubrey Menezes is a very talented sculptor, and we have featured his work before. A couple of weeks ago he was kind enough to tell us that he was giving Corinna and me a carved thylacine as a present. It arrived yesterday and is absolutely exquisite.

As you will read elsewhere in today's bloggo, we had an exciting Biggles-fuelled night, so instead of a carefully prepared photograph showing the thylacine in pride of place in the sitting room bathed in natural light, you have a picture of my beloved wife looking half awake at about 6:30 this morning after having spent the night up Biggles-sitting.

The thylacine, however, is a wonderful gift and means a lot to both of us. We shall treasure it immensely. Thank you Aubrey....

CFZ AUSTRALIA: Thylacine pelts for sale

Bet that got your attention! OK, not genuine thylacine pelts but cleverly crafted 'pelts' by two Tasmanian artists.

Read more about the pelts here.

Posted By CFZ Australia to Centre for Fortean Zoology Australia at 6/12/2010 01:50:00 AM

TANIA POOLE: Tales from the Antipodes

So I’ve heard many people mention to me that they have seen things. Big Cats are an extremely common sight here in Central Victoria. Thylacines are more fascinating, but then Yowies and Bunyips are even more exciting! People who have spoken to me are local people yet cover an area from Horsham to Gippsland. I’m yet to speak to some more people I have on my list, so they will come when they come. Josie is a new friend of mine, and she told me about this sighting at a Yule feast, so I decided to make her the first interviewed.

Interview with Josie Harris

Tania: Where do you live?

Josie: I live in Ballarat now, but my family is from Amphitheatre, which is on the way to Avoca. It’s the start of the Great Divide.

T: So is that the Pyrenees area?

J: Yeah, the mountains look the same as the Pyrenees in France. A lot of it is original growth. It wasn’t cut back when it was settled.

T: How long has your family been up there?

J: Grandpa’s farm was selected by our family, so they’ve been there since settlement.

T: How big is the land?

J: 10,000 acres – it’s quite big.

T: What, sheep?

J: Yep, sheep, since the start

T: So, what have you seen up there?

J: It was when I was about 13. I used to ride horses a lot with my cousins. I’ve got 58 cousins – it’s a huge family – so some of my cousins and I were riding along a dirt road that becomes bitumen later on when you go into Amphitheatre, into the actual town. Just before we got to the bitumen this big cat jumped across the road, and scared the crap out of the horses and we got bucked off.

T: What did it look like?

J: First we thought it was a dog, but it was definitely a cat, 'cause it had a big curved tail, kind of like a dusty brown and the top was darker, don’t know if it was black or brown. It came out from behind a tree and ran across the road into the bush.

T: Do you think it was a feral or definitely a big cat?

J: It was definitely a big cat, as it was the size of one.

T: 'Cause of the tail? The tail and the shoulders are quite distinct.

J: Yeah, and it had a flat head, like a big cat – the flat forehead. You could definitely tell it was not a dog.

T: What time of day was this?

J: Afternoon; we’d just had lunch.

T: What year?

J: I was 13 so it must have been 1995

T: Was it in summer?

J: Yeah, summer holidays. And I’ve heard stuff from other relatives as well; a lot of people have been up in the hills, shooting and stuff, my mum swears, and mum isn’t into this....

T: Bit of a sceptic?

J: Yeah, but she reckons one day she was up in the hills shooting with dad, they just heard this massive roar kind of sound coming from the other hills cause you can often yell from one hill to the other and it echoes clearly.

T: Acoustics is good. Called Amphitheatre for a reason.

J: Yeah, it's all rocky – bush with rocky outcrops. There is no one living on the farm now, but we still own it.

T: What else have your relatives seen?

J: One of my cousins thinks he saw one over in Dunnolly – sort of near Amphitheatre, near Maldon. He was at a party and something was scaring the cows outside and they went out and they reckon they saw one. And on WIN (channel 9) news a few years ago there were footprints – they found big cat footprints in the area.

T: Do you or your family have any theories about where they might come from?

J: There are a few stories – one is that some people brought some back after the Second World War or something – had them as mascots and they got away or let them go. Then there’s the theory that a guy at Miners Rest had a circus – when he retired they were pets, but got away – they’re the stories I heard.

T: What else is out there? Have you heard of anything else?

J: [Laughs] my sister thinks she saw a Bunyip. I don’t know if I believe her or not.

T: What did she see? What was it?

J: We don’t know. Mum reckons it might have been a sheep standing on its hind legs eating the trees. My sister was down at the creek one day, and she came running back and said that she saw it.

T: How old was she?

J: She was 12 – she is 18 now.

T: Did she describe it?

J: She said it was big and hairy and it was trying to hide in the trees, but she saw it and it ran off.
T: Did it run like a sheep?

J: On two legs.

T: On two legs?

J: Yeah. She thinks.

T: She thinks? Wasn’t a Yowie possibly?

J: No idea.

T: Was it brown, or was it like a sheep – a pale brown colour?

J: She said it was brown and black and furry. She said it was more furry that woolly; that’s why she’ll never to this day agree that it was a sheep. Coz she reckons it was furry. Not woolly.

T: Do you think it was like a Yowie? Like a Bigfoot?

J: Could have been. They’ve been seen sort of near there.

T: Where?

J: Just rumours – further up north, in more forest areas, near Bendigo and Swan Hill.

T: Was that on the property as well – where the cats are?

J: Yep, they live in that area.

T: Yowies?

J: Big cats.

T: You think they live in the hills?

J: The rabbit virus never really took hold – lots of rabbits up there - that’s probably what they eat. I’ll never forget that cat though. It scared the hell out of me and the horses. And the one we saw on the footage on WIN news 5 or 6 years ago looked like the same.

T: You haven’t heard of any Thylacines in the area?

J: Only further south, near the Otways.

T: And the Grampians.

J: That’s certainly a hotspot.

T: Thanks Jo!

Of course after hearing about her sister’s sighting, I thought this interview was far from over. But then I’ve not yet met her sister, except for a short phone conversation and an email but she has not replied to my request – so I am not sure whether she wants to be interviewed about it, or whether it really was just made up by her. Josie seems rather dubious about her sister’s story, so I am not sure what to believe.

GLEN VAUDREY: The last dive between the pages of `The Savage World`

For my final dive between the pages of The Savage World I look at one of my favourite animals and perhaps the most likely extinct animal to make a return to the known world, the thylacine.

Strangely, the author appears to have a little difficulty picking a name for it and comes up with five different ones in the same short passage.

‘The Zebra Wolf, or Dog-headed Opossum (Thylacynus cynocephalus), is not strictly an opossum, for its hind feet lack thumbs, the tail is hairy and non-prehensile, and it has too few incisor teeth in each jaw. It is called the Tasmanian wolf, the Australian tiger, the Zebra wolf, and the Australian hyena. It is carnivorous like the wolf, to which it has many resemblances. Its body slopes forward in consequence of its hind legs being longer than the fore legs; its elongated thick muzzle is almost cylindrical, its tail broad at the base tapers to a point, and it dresses itself in gray indulging, however in black stripes across its back and hind legs.

It is very destructive to flocks and is hence anything but a favorite with farmers. Its digestion is sufficiently remarkable to admit of its competing with the goat or the ostrich, since it has been known to eat the porcupine, quills and all.

The animal is nocturnal in its habits and specially particular about making its home wherever the light of day cannot penetrate. The animal has only rudimentary marsupial organs’

I will let the author off this time for not seeing the extinction of this animal coming. The last captive thylacine died on 7 September 1936 in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania. While that may be the official end, reports of sightings have carried on and I, like many others, would not be at all surprised if one or more examples appeared out of the bush in the next year or so.

RICHARD FREEMAN WRITES

I have created a dream tour in a competition with Wanderlust. If enough people vote for it myself and two others go on the trip. My tour is an expedition in search of the thylacine in Tasmania. Vote for it here

http://createyourownadventure.com/tour/OgRaFTPPVMzI/

Many thanks,

Richard

OLL LEWIS: 5 Questions on… Cryptozoology - RICHARD FREEMAN

Today’s answerer of questions is Richard Freeman. I’m sure you are all aware of who Richard Freeman is. He has been the CFZ zoological director since time immemorial and has participated in and/or led a number of CFZ expeditions to far flung places including Russia, Mongolia, Guyana, Sumatra and the Gambia. His book Dragons More Than A Myth has recently been made available in the United States of America and his new book, an encyclopaedia on the supernatural beings of Japan (known as Yokai) is almost ready to be released by CFZ Press (keep an eye on the blog for more information).

So, Richard Freeman, here are your five questions on… Cryptozoology:

1) How did you first become interested in cryptozoology?

Watching the great Jon Pertwee as Dr Who in the 70s. In his 3rd incarnation, the Doctor was mostly trapped on Earth because the Time Lords had changed the dematerialisation codes on the Tardis in order to trap him. The monsters he fought were on modern day Earth in familiar settings. This made them all the more compelling. Sea Devils, Autons, Silurians, Axons, Daleks.
This sparked my fascination in monsters.

2) Have you ever personally seen a cryptid or secondary evidence of a cryptid, if so can you please describe your encounter?

I have seen the Monster of Martin Mere, a giant swan-attacking catfish.
I have seen very clear tracks of the Orang-pendek. I used to be a zookeeper and can easily recognise the prints of known apes. The Orang-pendek has a longer heel and a less prehensile big toe than other apes.

In 2008 I think I heard the vocalisation of an almasty and got to within 12 feet of it as it prowled around an abandoned farm at 2.30 in the morning.

3) Which cryptids do you think are the most likely to be scientifically discovered and described some day, and why?

The thylacine, it’s been seen by a park ranger and zoologists. Professor Henry Nicks's computer programme Bioclim predicted its existence in exactly the place in Tasmania where most of the sightings were coming from.

Orang-pendek, I've seen its tracks and Dave Archer and Sahar have seen the beast. Debbie Martyr and Jeremy Holden have also seen it. It is an upright-walking relative of the orangutan.
Giant anaconda - lots of sightings - it lives in water were it is buoyed up and can reach huge sizes, maybe 50-60 feet in rare cases.

Almasty, I think Adam and I got very close to seeing one. Grigory Panchenko has seen them on several times. It is a descendant of Homo erectus.

Sea serpents (several kinds) marine reptiles, marine mammals and giant elongate fish. These have been consistently reported since the days of ancient Babylon.
Yeti; its remoteness protects it. Probably Gigantopithecus or something closely related.
The Japanese wolf; like the thylacine lots of good witnesses, also a very convincing photo.

4) Which cryptids do you think are the least likely to exist?

Non-Avian dinosaurs, mostly mistaken identity by some zoologists. Supposed dinosaurs may actually be giant monitor lizards, unknown rhinos and other animals.

5) If you had to pick your favourite cryptozoological book (not including books you may have written yourself) what would you choose?

Out of the Shadows by Tony Healy and Paul Cropper, an amazing book on an amazing continent. The Yowie, Australia's Bigfoot by the same authors, amazing detail and many new cases. Mythical Monsters by Charles Gould, the original cryptozoology book
On the Track of Unknown Animals, Bernard Heuvelmans's cornerstone work, nuff said!
Alien Animals by Janet and Colin Bord, I read this as a kid and it really got me hooked.

LINDSAY SELBY: Thylacine resource

For anyone interested in the Thylacine, this website has an article with reports up to and including 2008. Worth a read.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/02/26/2172927.htm