The Ringdocus/Shunka Warak'in

Enter Shunka Warak'in.

Shunka Warak’in is an Ioway name that means: "carrying off dogs", an apt name as the creature was known for sneaking into the Native's camps and stealing their dogs. It's described as being Hyena-like with dark fur and a sloping back. One was actually shot (pictured in the second photo) back in the late 1800's by Israel Hutchins, a Mormon settler in Montana.

"Hutchins had it stuffed by a local Joseph Sherwood, who put it on display at his general store near Henry's Lake, Idaho until the 1980s when it mysteriously disappeared. In 2007, Jack Kirby, grandson of the man who shot the animal, tracked it down to the Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello. The specimen was displayed in the Madison Valley History Museum when it reopened in May 2007.

In December 2005 a strange wolf like animal began killing livestock in the McCone, Garfield and Dawson counties of Montana. By October of 2006 the animal, now known as The Creature of McCone County, had killed more than 120 various forms of livestock and appeared in several news articles including one in the May 2006 issue of USA Today. On November 2, 2006 the Montana Wildlife Service shot and killed a creature that may have been responsible for these killings." ~Cryptid Fandom

"At 105 pounds, however, the animal was much larger than a dog, closer to the size of the gray wolves that inhabit the Northern Rockies. Yet the feet were small, and the face pointed, uncharacteristic of wolves. The gray-and-cream-colored fur, with flecks of orange, was also unusual. Western wolves are usually gray or white, but never brown.

“The teeth were perfect,” said the biologist, Jon Trapp, a wolf management specialist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “Not even a chip. And there was tartar buildup.” Wolves often have broken teeth and no tartar because they chew up bones." ~The New York Times

Unfortunately, I could find no photographic evidence of the animal shot. HOWEVER, in the image below (the creature lying dead on the tailgate) is what the Montana Fish and Wildlife Dept. claims was a normal Grey Wolf, supposedly confirmed by DNA testing. I'm skeptical to say the least.

The creature placed below is what many claim to have seen and describe, although it is sometimes described as black in coloration. Otherwise it matches perfectly what people have described, and is in-fact an artists illustration of a Dire Wolf. Yes, a Dire Wolf. Is it possible that the Shunka Warak'in is a type of Dire Wolf that survived into our present day? Is the Dire Wolf truly extinct? After all; Washington, Idaho, Montana, all the way over to Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois have their own sightings that all sound like the same creature.

If you have ever seen what you must have thought was a wolf or dog of some sort, but matches this creature's description, please feel free to share your story. Especially if you have a photograph.

~Jephthah w/Idaho Bigfoot