Thylacine Researchers: Greg Heberle

In 2004, Greg Heberle, then a CALM (Conservation and Land Management) officer with the Western Australian Government, wrote a paper discussing alleged thylacine sightings in Western Australia (Heberle, 2004). It analysed 203 reported sightings from WA dated between 1936 and 1998, including 138 reports on file with the organisation MARCA which was founded by Sharon West (?–2015). His own interest came about as follows, as recounted on his personal website:

"Possible Thylacine sightings by Heberles and relatives
I became interested in Thylacine sightings in March 1998, when my brother mentioned that he had sighted a possible Thylacine in about 1976 near Green Range Country Club on Hassell Highway 100km east of Albany. This was after one of my sisters told me that she and a friend sighted a possible Thylacine in the Fitzgerald national park on Pabelup Drive near Twertup on about 14 January 1995. The husband of a cousin sighted possible Thylacines on 4 occasions between 1965 and 1975 on Canberra West farm which is on Hassell Highway about 8km east of Green Range Country Club. His wife (my cousin) also saw a possible Thylacine near the Country Club during that period. My younger brother (deceased) sighted a possible Thylacine in 1974 on a farm at Nyabing in the company of a friend. This friend also saw one on another occasion, probably in 1974. I have made 5 possible Thylacine sightings, on 31 March 1995, 19 March 2003 , 15 Sep 2003, 31 Oct 2006, 17 Dec 2008. Thylacines are alleged to bite off the heads of kangaroos, notably road kill. I have sighted 13 headless kangaroo carcases 2006-2013, all in the vicinity of alleged thylacine sightings.

I am interested in hearing details of any possible Thylacine sightings.

Greg Heberle
125 Anzac Terrace, Bassendean 6054, West Australia.

Phone 08 92793326
Email
greghebe[at]tpg[dot]com[dot]au

gregheberle[at]hotmail[dot]com"

Source: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~gregheberle/THYLACINE.htm

There is a reference to a newspaper article by a Greg Heberle dated to 1977 floating around the internet (Heberle, 1977), which may have been written by him (as a journalist?) over two decades before his own personal interest in the subject began.

References

Heberle, Greg. (1977). Reports of alleged thylacine sightings in Western Australia. Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), 27 March, p. 46.

Heberle, Greg. (2004). Reports of alleged thylacine sightings in Western Australia. Conservation Science of Western Australia 5(1): 1-5.