A farmer caught a fanged animal previously thought to be extinct after setting a trap to find the culprit that had been after his chickens.
Officials in Australia confirmed that the animal was indeed the spotted-tailed quoll — also known as the tiger quoll — a beast which hasn't been spotted in the south of the country since the 1880s.
Pao Ling Tsai discovered the animal when he checked on a trap set by authorities after he snapped a picture of the mysterious culprit, expecting to find a cat or another nuisance critter.
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"I expected to find a cat, but I found this little animal instead," Pao told local news ABC South East SA. "It was incredible. I had no idea what it was at first."
The animal exists in other parts of the country but hasn't been spotted in the south for over 130 years.
"The species was considered extinct in South Australia, with no official records for some 100 years or more," National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Limestone Coast district ranger Ross Anderson told Newsweek. "There have been unofficial records since that time."
He added: “There have been some unofficial sightings [too] but nobody’s actually had an animal photographed, or held in their hand, for that length of time.
“It’s amazing to have something we thought was extinct turning up at our backdoor.”
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The spotted quoll is endangered on the mainland and vulnerable on the southern island of Tasmania, the Guardian reported. There are believed to be 14,000 left in the wild.
“They’re considered extinct here as a result of loss of habitat, predation and competition with things like cats and foxes,” Anderson said.
“We can’t be sure where it’s come from. Is it an animal that still exists as a relic population? Is that something that has escaped from captivity? Or is it just a lone animal that’s what a really long way.”
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