The Queensland Tiger (also known as the Yarri) is a feline looking cryptid that is said to live in the Queensland area of Eastern Australia. It is described as being roughly the size of a large dog (like that of a German Shepherd) but with the body type and shape of large cat. It is muscular yet lean (like a cheetah), has large prominent teeth, and has an extremely long tail that is half the size of its body. It’s fur is reported as being a sandy tan or a light brown color and it is covered with dark colored stripes beginning at the shoulders and working its way down the tail. It is reported as being very aggressive as well as elusive.

The earliest documented outside reports of the Queensland Tiger began in 1871 and have continued sporadically into present day. Aboriginal Australian accounts of the tiger long predate those of the colonists of 1788. Eyewitness reports of the tiger describe it as being extremely fast and very agile. It has mostly been sighted during twilight hours (dusk and dawn) which would make the tiger crepuscular. During the 1970’s, there were over 100 reports of tiger sightings as well as many reports of tigers being shot and killed by outback ranchers and hunters.

Theories on the existence of the Queensland Tiger range from a small surviving population of Thylacoleo (an animal of similar size and predatory habits that lived in Australia around 30,000yrs ago), to an urban myth that a small population of pumas were possibly brought over to Australia by American soldiers during WW2 and released into the outback. Another possible theory is that the Queensland Tiger is actually a mainland variant of the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger), although the two creatures are described differently (size, head/body shape, position and color of stripes), it has been proposed that the Queensland Tiger is also a marsupial like the Thylacine.

Even though sightings still occur to this day, many people believe the Queensland Tiger has officially gone extinct.

-The Pine Barrens Institute

*Image Credit: Dami Editore