Probably not. But then again...

Wildlife scientists have re-opened the cryptic case of a carnivore that resembled a striped coyote and vanished from its Australian haunt nearly 80 years ago.

While the scientists think chances are slim that the so-called Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) still roams the island off the coast of Australia, they can’t help but turn over every possible leaf to look for evidence of the elusive animal.

The last wild Tasmanian tiger was killed between 1910 and 1920, and the last captive one died in 1936 at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, Australia. In 1986, the creature was declared extinct. The extinction marked the demise of the only member of its family, Thylacinidae, and the world’s largest marsupial (pouched) carnivore. It weighed about 65 pounds and had a nose-to-tail length of six feet.

However, rumored sightings of the creature continue to emerge from the island's ancient forests.

Moreover, it turns out that some scat samples collected in the 50's probably came from one or more Tasmanian tigers, even though the animals were thought to be long gone from the wild by then. If there are a few of them somehow still out there, it's actually an encouraging sign that they leave so few traces. The more stealthy they are, the more likely they are to go on as a species. Anyhow, here's hoping.