US wildlife officials are baffled by an unusual wolf-like creature shot by a rancher in Montana. After failing to identify the body, the authorities sent it for DNA testing, fueling speculation about the animal's origin.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Advertisement
The US state of Montana is well-known for its wilderness and wildlife, but even its animal experts are unable to determine the species of the canine recently killed near the central town of Denton.
A rancher spotted what he believed to be a wolf near his livestock and shot it on May 16. He then called game wardens to pick up the carcass.
However, once Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks employees arrived to the scene, they noted the female animal had several important differences compared to a wolf. Notably, it had claws that were too long, canine teeth that were too short, unusual fur, large ears and short legs, alongside other more subtle distinctions.
"We have no idea what this is until we get a DNA report back," spokesman Bruce Auchly, told the local Great Falls Tribune newspaper on Thursday. "The whole animal was sent to our lab in Bozeman. That's the last I heard of it."
The nails on the animal's paw are too long for a wolfImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Authorities will likely take weeks before processing DNA results.
"Nevertheless, social media was quick to pronounce the animal as everything from a wolf to a wolf hybrid to something mythical," according to Auchly.
No dire wolf
Some animal experts have suggested the unknown creature could be a wolf-dog hybrid. With the story gaining nationwide traction in the US, internet users speculated with more exotic theories, such as cross-breeding with coyotes or hyenas. Some even suggested the animal was a dire wolf, an extinct wolf variant that inspired fictional beasts in the popular series of fantasy books "A Song of Ice and Fire."
However, Fish, Wildlife and Parks official Auchly strongly rejected this theory.
"First off (dire wolf) was a song by the Grateful Dead from 1971," he told the Great Falls Tribune. "I know; I listened to it many times. Number two, it's a prehistoric animal, like mastodons and saber toothed tigers; so it doesn't exist."
Regardless of the species, officials said the Denton rancher was within his right to shoot the creature on his pasture.
"It was real close to the cattle and residences," warden Zach Norris said. "There were domestic dogs in the area and then there were children."
While wolves were once nearly extinct in Montana, the state boasted an estimated 900 wolves in 2017.
What do you know about wolves?
Wolves have long been feared and persecuted by human beings, who regard them as blood thirsty savages. But they are in fact incredibly intelligent and social animals that have survived against the odds. Meet the pack.
Image: Wolfscenter
Eternal love?
Wolves are said to mate for life, but it is a contentious claim, with some suggesting that while they are relatively loyal animals, it is also perfectly normal for an alpha male to mate with more than one female.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J.Stratenschulte
Bloodthirsty savages?
Wolves have been depicted over time as ferocious animals that prey on people, and children in particular. Conservationists say there is no reason man can't live in peace alongside wolves.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/McPHOTO
Howling at the moon?
Legend has it that wolves howl at the moon, but scientists refute this claim, saying they actually just lift their heads because it enables the sound to carry better. The animals are known to howl in order to assemble their pack, attract a mate, mark territory, scare off enemies, signal alarm, or communicate their position.
Hunting together
Wolves don't only live in packs, they also hunt as a team. While a single wolf can catch and kill smaller deer or mammals by itself, if they work together, they can prey upon larger animals such as moose or elks.
A lone wolf
A wolf that has been driven from the pack - maybe as a result of sickness or weakness - or decides to leave by itself, is known as a lone wolf. These animals are said to howl less as a means of keeping themselves off the radar of other nearby packs.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P.Pleul
Forever on the road
Wolves are travelers, covering areas of between 30 to 50 km per day, and more if they don't find food. Their territories range in size, depending on the size of the pack and the density of prey within it, but average between 150 and 300 square km.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Bernhardt
Cute little pups?
On average, wolves give birth to litters of between 6 and eight pups. They are born in dens which the pack's alpha female chooses during the 63-day gestation period. The babies are weaned after eight weeks, when they begin eating solids in the form of regurgitated food from the adults.
Safety in numbers
Wolves live in packs of between six and ten animals. The hierarchy is strict, with each pack headed by dominant alpha male. He, and his mate, the alpha female, are the only animals in the pack that breed, but all the adults help to take care of the pups.
