In the northern Midwest wilderness lives a mysterious and primitive looking species of wolf.

In the northern Midwest wilderness lives a mysterious and primitive looking species of wolf.

In the northern Midwest wilderness lives a mysterious and primitive looking species of wolf. While it remains unknown to scientists a specimen has been not only collected but mounted as well.
To the Ioway and other native america tribes in the area it’s known as the thing that ‘carry’s off dogs’ or in the native tongue, the Shunka Warak’In.
In the 1880’s, pioneers settling in the Maddison River Valley also began encountering this strange, wolf like beast. It had a long, thin, snout; dark shaggy fur; and a sloping back, a lot like a hyena.
The Hutchins family took part In that 1880’s migration to the west; word is their ranch still appears on Montana road maps today. But besides a 150 year old foot print in the area, the Hutchins family has another claim to fame in the Maddison River Valley. Now, the youngest member of the Hutchins family would go on to become a naturalist with a PHD in zoology and Ross Hutchins would publish a book titled ‘Trails to Nature’s Mysteries: The Life of a Working Naturalist’ in 1977 and in that book he wrote:
“One winter morning, my grandfather was aroused by the barking of the dogs. He discovered that a wolf like beast of dark color was chasing my grandmother’s geese. He fired his gun at the Animal but missed. It ran off down the river, but several mornings later, it was seen again at about dawn. It was seen several more times at the home ranch as well as other ranches 10 or 15 miles down the valley. Whatever it was it was a great traveler…..
“Those who got a good look at the beast described it as being nearly black and having high shoulders and a back that sloped downward like a hyena. Then, one morning in late January, my grandfather was alerted by the dogs and this time he was able to kill it. just what the animal was is still an open question. After being killed, it was donated to a man pnamed Sherwood who kept a combination grocery and museum at Henry Lake in Idaho. It was mounted and displayed there for many years. He called it “Ringdocus”.
So what is this mysterious Ringdocus or as it’s been dubbed by locals, the “Rocky Mountain hyena”?.
While the fossils record doesn’t support the presence of direwolves or cave hyena’s thriving this far south, it isn’t out of the question. Could the Shunka Warak’In be something that hung on through the ages? Maybe it is a modern day dire wolf or cave hyena. Or maybe it’s another ancient animals known as a Borophagus, which is an extinct type of canid that lived roughly 12 million to 1.8 million years ago. These carnivorous mammals seem to be a cross between a hyena and a wolf and were a dominant predator in the River Valley, during their time.
But It’s hard to imagine that an early Pleistocene animal could have survived within the Rocky Mountains unseen. Except, when it comes to the Shunka Warak’In, we have an actual mounted specimen. And maybe one day, the parties involved will seek a DNA test. But until that day, we will never actually know what the Shunka Warak’In or the Ringdocus truly is.