Tasmanian tiger head bought for £50 sells for £62,000 at auction
A taxidermied head listed as a fox turned out to be an extinct Tasmanian tiger and sold for £62,000, after starting at £50.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A taxidermied head bought at auction for £50 has been identified as a Tasmanian tiger, an extinct marsupial, and sold for £62,000 after a bidding war.
The head was listed by an auction house as a 19th century fox head, with an estimate of £30 to £50. But James Cranfield, a collector with tens of thousands of specimens, spotted it online and realised it was not a fox. He said the teeth were the giveaway: a fox would have a longer canine, and the number of incisors between the top canines differs. The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, has eight incisors, while dogs and foxes have six.
At auction, another bidder also recognised the specimen, and the price rose quickly. From the opening bid of £50, Cranfield ended up paying £62,000. The head is now in his private collection, which includes pea hens, peregrine falcons and colobus monkeys.
Thylacines became extinct in the 1930s. The last known captive animal was filmed in a newsreel shortly before its death. Cranfield said the head could be valuable to science, as it might contain DNA that could be sequenced, or provide new information about the species. He took the head to a dentist for an X-ray of the teeth, hoping to confirm beyond doubt that it is a thylacine and not a badly stuffed fox.
"This might be able to unlock something that we previously didn't know about an extinct species," he said. "It's very, very cool."
The sale has made headlines because of the dramatic difference between the original price and the final bid, and because the specimen offers a rare chance to study an extinct animal.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| An x-ray of the teeth will be used to confirm it is a thylacine. | |
| The buyer recognised the head as a thylacine from its dental features. | |
| The head is the only surviving head of a thylacine, a marsupial extinct for nearly a century. | |
| The head was originally listed as a 19th century fox head with an estimate of £30 to £50. | |
| The specimen may provide DNA for genetic research. | |
| Two bidders recognised the head as a Tasmanian tiger, which pushed the price higher. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The Evening News report leads with the humorous contrast between a 'stuffed fox' and a tiger, then details how the buyer identified the head through dental features. It highlights the scientific potential and ends with a light-hearted comment about the buyer's career peak. The tone is warm and slightly playful, emphasising the bargain-to-fortune angle.
- “this is so special this might be able to unlock something that we previously didn't know about an extinct species”
- “from an opening bid of 50 pounds james ended up paying 62 000”
- “i've sort of peaked in my career it won't get any better than this”
The News at Ten version places the story as a final light item after a serious report on FIFA. It follows the same narrative as the Evening News but frames the bidding as a 'tug of war' between two bidders. The ending is more explicit about the risk of spending 'the price of a sports car on a badly stuffed fox', underlining the suspense of the verification.
- “At £62,000, the hammer came down.”
- “he hasn't spent the price of a sports car on a badly stuffed fox”
- “as goofy and as silly as it looks, this is so special”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.