The one who “carries off dogs”
In 1886, Mormon settler Israel Ammon Hutchins raised his G.W. Morse rifle at a strange creature that had roamed onto his ranch, and fearing for his livestock, he shot it. Ever since that day, the identity of this creature, dubbed the “Ringdocus”, has remained not truly known.
The Shunka Warakin (sometimes written as Shunka Warak’in) gets its name from the Ioway term “shhuhnkha Warahwalkin”, which means “carries/carrying off dogs”. The beast, said to resemble something between a wolf and a hyena, is reported to have long fur that can range from pure black to reddish in color, and a hunched back. As its name implies, it would sneak into the camps of Native Americans at night and steal their dogs, along with later hunting and killing the livestock of white settlers.
The “Ringdocus” shot by Israel A. Hutchins and mounted by taxidermist Joseph Sherwood (who also gave the animal its name) has long been said to be a legendary Shunka Warakin, if this is true, then that would mean this cryptid has actual physical evidence of its existence.
But things aren’t that simple.
“Rocky Mountain Hyena. Killed by IA. Hutchins 1886″
The mount originally resided at the store of Joseph Sherwood, near Henry’s Lake in the state of Idaho, but for one reason or another went missing for over 100 years. It wasn’t until December of 2007 that Jack Kirby, the grandson of the man who’d shot the beast, tracked it down to the Idaho Museum of Natural History. It has since then found a new home at the Madison Valley History Association Museum, where it is on display for public viewing.
So, is the “Ringdocus” a specimen of the Shunka Warakin? I wouldn’t be so sure.
To begin with, the Shunka Warakin itself is a very vaguely described animal, the accounts of it could honestly be chalked up to an overly daring and hungry wolf. Then you’ve got the mount itself, an old piece that for a mix of reasons (one of the main ones being to keep the mystery and therefore allure of it alive) has never had a DNA test done on it. So all we’ve got to go on is visuals (poor visuals at that).
And going off of that, I personally think the “Ringdocus” is an aging and somewhat poorly taxidermied canine hybrid. One interesting possibility that I lean towards is it being a coydog:
(Head’s up, images of dead critters ahead)
Coydogs share several characteristics with the mount, two of the most obvious being the long dark fur and being larger than your average ‘yote. Take this individual for instance, a coyote that (going by the unique markings) has some domestic dog ancestry:
Long black fur? ✓ Fluffy tail? ✓ Thin legs? ✓ Long snout? ✓
Now of course, until a DNA test is done and we have conclusive evidence of what this mystery monster mount really is, this is all just speculation ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Mod Gef
(Image sources: X X X X)