X-ray verifies taxidermy as Tasmanian Tiger, says Essex buyer – BBC

James Cranfield bought the mounted animal head for £62,600 earlier this month
A mounted head of an animal that was bought at auction has been officially verified as an extinct Tasmanian Tiger specimen.
James Cranfield, a natural history collector from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, spent £62,600 buying the taxidermy earlier this month from Auctioneum, in Bristol.
On Sunday, the 38-year-old heard from the International Thylacine Specimen Database that X-ray images had verified it was the head of a rare thylacine, a creature sometimes referred to as a Tasmanian Tiger.
"To be vindicated in everything that I said is amazing and also surreal. It's like a dream. It's like a movie. You couldn't write this," he said.
'I saved an extinct tiger's head from obscurity'
"It is continually overwhelming. I'm in disbelief in this surreal moment in my life," he added.
The thylacine was a carnivorous marsupial with dog-like traits that was native to New Guinea, Australia and Tasmania.
Most died out about 2,000 years ago but a population continued on Tasmania into the 20th Century before hunting, disease and habitat destruction drove it to extinction.
A thylacine at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, Australia, where the last one died in 1936
Cranfield said he had been bidding against someone else who also believed the lot was more than an antique fox head, which was how the auctioneer labelled the item when it went up for sale for £50.
He said: "The only reason they stopped [bidding] is because they had a 0.01% niggling doubt that it wasn't.
"I turned to them in the car park after the auction and I said, 'Well, it's a good thing I'm 100%'. I've been 100% the moment I laid eyes on it in person."
Yet despite being "certain" he was right, news coverage did make him worry he had got it wrong.
"I would never be able to face the public again," he said, "my reputation would have been down the drain."
Cranfield said he hopes to get help extracting DNA to learn more about the species.
The item will be loaned to museums and kept in the public eye, and eventually displayed at Cranfield's Curiosity Cabinet in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, Cranfield said.
The International Thylacine Specimen Database holds a catalogue of all known specimens.
Project director Dr Stephen Sleightholme said confirming the species via radiographic examination was "relatively straightforward".
He said: "Although it is unfortunate that the specimen is entirely lacking in provenance, it is nevertheless a remarkable find… being only the second known example of a mounted head."
He commended Cranfield for "recognising its significance and bringing it to attention".
Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? Contact us below.
Your Voice
Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external.
'I saved an extinct tiger's head from obscurity'
Head of extinct thylacine sells for £60k at auction
Final Tasmanian tiger's remains found in cupboard
Fylde prevail over Forest Green after Harvey Broad brace
Major Essex road CLOSED due to ongoing 'police incident'
Police launch search for missing 81-year-old Essex man
300kg of ketamine seized in two major interceptions at Essex port
Southend Coastguard rushes to 999 call of distressed vessel under pier
Parents give views on teen social media addiction after landmark Meta settlement
Watch our pick of standout clips from across the BBC
Search for survivors of Nepal-Tibet flood enters fourth day with almost 2,000 still missing
97-year-old woman rescued after Nepali floods looked like 'a warrior'
Footage of Tibet floods isn't being shown in China – and we know little about victims there
Hypermobility – the little-known 'bendy disease' that causes pain and fatigue
Jacob Elordi on why The Dog Stars had him asking 'What am I missing' in life?
'Healey to defer defence spend target' and 'Fergie's coming home'
Girl dragged under van in 'worst nightmare' crash raises thousands for rescuers
I was spending £700 a month: How I beat my late-night shopping addiction
I'm leaving the BBC after MS pain made it hard to carry on
Weekly quiz: Who is taking over as Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO's Harry Potter series?
Former British-Israeli Hamas hostage married in Tel Aviv
I used to live in a quiet area – now a data centre overlooks my garden
Low-key noughties sitcom starring Robert Webb and Paula Wilcox
Keith Richards recalls how he wrote the iconic 'Satisfaction'
An unlikely gang set out to catch a killer who shattered rural peace
Did Emily ruin Paris?
Man dies and at least six injured after sign falls at Christian festival
'Healey to defer defence spend target' and 'Fergie's coming home'
Landlady to 9/11 hijackers reveals their links to alleged Saudi spy
Close race as Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU
The race to stop England running out of water
Footage of Tibet floods isn't being shown in China – and we know little about victims there
How one of the 'most powerful hacks' to control stress actually works
Trump says US has 'historic' deal to control 65bn barrels of Venezuela's oil
Mountain of broken fridges growing across England and Wales
Somali piracy surges as the impact of the US-Iran war ripples outwards
Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.

source