sailors on abel tasman's ship in november 1642 reported seeing "tygr" footprints. the french explorer, antoine bruni d'entrecasteaux, found a thylacine jaw bone in 1792. on may 13, 1792, he made the first confirmed sighting, which was described as being the size of a large dog, streaked with black. in 1805, lieutenant governor paterson sent a description of a thylacine to sydney. he said the animal was rare and uncommon.