Next time there is a garage sale in town, make sure you pay a visit. Bill Warren hit the jackpot when he bagged a pelt for a measly 5 bucks, and the unique find is now creating a buzz as it could just be the skin of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger. Warren stands to pocket a cool $70,000 or above if the claims are verified.

Sorting his way through odds and ends at a San Diego garage sale, the pelt was a find which the owner herself had got from another Boston garage sale three decades ago. She must now be ripping out her hair in despair, with the abysmal feeling of having torn up your winning lottery ticket

The Tasmanian Tiger has now been declared extinct for over 70 years, but some believe that a few survive in the remote Tasmanian bushland. However spottings have largely been the stuff of fables. This marsupial carnivore looked somewhat like a dog with a striped tigerish coat. Now the Australian firm Armitage Auctions is looking into the matter to investigate if the pelt is authentic. The pelt cannot be sold in the US as the American Fish and Wildlife service has listed the Tasmanian Tiger in the category of endangered species, and not extinct ones.

A delighted Warren reportedly said to San Diego News that his visit had sure paid off, but rued the American Fish and Wildlife service listing.

The Tasmanian Tiger will hog the limelight in a new Willem Dafoe film titled ‘The Hunter’

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