Far North Queensland researchers will launch a scientific study into the existence of Tasmanian tigers on Cape York following a series of historical sightings being reported.

James Cook University scientists Professor Bill Laurance and Dr Sandra Abell will use more than 50 camera traps to survey sites where thylacines are believed to have been spotted.

Dr Abell, who will lead the study, said her interest was piqued after hearing Brian Hobbs' account on ABC Far North, and has since been in contact with him personally.

"What really stood out to me was that it wasn't just a brief sighting in the [car] headlights, he actually said that he saw the animals multiple times in one night," she said.

Professor Laurance said Mr Hobbs account stood out as being "fair dinkum" and was clearly not fictitious.

"He was quite detailed in terms of his descriptions of eye shines and aspects of the body pattern and movements," he said.

"All stuff that we were able to go back and cross-reference against other accounts."

James Cook University ecologists Professor Bill Laurance and Dr Sandra Abell are keeping quiet about the exact location of their study. ( ABC Far North: Mark Rigby )

Proceeding with caution, quickly

Both Dr Abell and Professor Laurance were wary of releasing too much information about the planned locations of their study, for fear of other people trying to get involved.

"We're not worried too much about legitimate scientists doing that, but we're a little worried about what you might call the 'yobbo effect' — where somebody hears about it and then wants to go and shoot one of these things," Professor Laurance said.

But at this stage expediency was Dr Abell's primary concern.

"It's really important to get all the facts together and there are a lot of different things we need to be sure of before we spend the resources to actually go out look for something," she said.

"We have had declines in our mammals all through Cape York and through Australia, so my concern is that if we leave it too much longer to just go and have a look then we could actually miss out on seeing something."

Scientists have been enticed by remarkably detailed reports of Tasmanian tigers on Queensland's Cape York. ( Wikimedia Commons: John Gould )

Species-rich Cape York

This would not be the first time camera traps would be used to survey the existence of a species no longer thought to be inhabiting Cape York.

"We've just rediscovered a population of northern bettong where there had been no records since 2003," Dr Abell said.

She said this camera-trapping survey could repeat history and capture the activities of some of Cape York's less legendary creatures.

"The benefit of this is that we really will get an idea of some of the other mammals that are in the locations, and we'll also be able to assess feral animal presence," Dr Abell said.

"There's actually so little baseline information on large expanses of the Cape York Peninsula, so it'll be really valuable data to collect," Professor Laurance said.

"There's not much of a downside to this [study] — it provides a very interesting scientific angle and impetus on work that we would really like to be doing anyway."