The Shunka Warak'in
In 1886, a rancher in Montana shot a strange, hyena-like animal that was killing his livestock. It was stuffed and put on display. Then it disappeared for over a century.
What was reported
In 1886, Israel Ammon Hutchins, a rancher in the Madison Valley of Montana, shot a dark, wolf-like creature that had been attacking his animals. It had high shoulders and a sloping back, like a hyena. It was mounted by a taxidermist and displayed for years in a museum and shop in Idaho, where it was called 'ringdocus'.
The name shunka warak'in comes from the Ioway people, meaning roughly 'carries off dogs'. The mount was lost for decades, until in 2007 it was found again in a museum in Idaho by one of Hutchins's descendants.
Explanations offered
The mount hasn't been fully tested. Many think it's an unusual wolf or a wolf-dog hybrid, its strange look partly due to the taxidermy. DNA tests have been discussed but not conclusively published.
- When
- Shot in 1886; rediscovered in 2007
- Where
- Madison Valley, Montana, USA
- Witnesses
- A rancher's family, then museum staff
- Status
- Unidentified
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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