‘Holy grail’: Antique ‘fox head’ bought at a flea market turns out to be an ancient extinct species valued at $85K

Natural history buff James Cranfield bought the head for $85,000 at auction after realizing it was not a fox but a rare, extinct Tasmanian Tiger. Auctioneum It was the Fantastic Mr. Faux. A UK antique collector was shocked after realizing a taxidermied “fox head” was actually the supremely rare bust of an extinct predator called a Tasmanian Tiger. “I will never find anything better,” the curious cranium’s owner James Cranfield, a natural history relics dealer, told the BBC of the once-in-a-lifetime find. The incredible saga began innocuously enough when an anonymous seller bought the artifact for around $67 at a county fair because they were amused by its googly eyes and cartoonish smile, Science Alert reported. Cranfield identified the Tasmanian Tiger head (pictured) by counting the numbe