 But unlike other mythical creatures, the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, actually indisputably existed, an apex predator the size of a small wolf that roamed the island as recently as last century, which gives hope to so many obsessives, dreamers, and true believers looking for the Tasmanian tiger in the bush, and, as you'll see, in the lab. This is a story that says as much about human nature as it does nature nature.