Shunka Warak’in: Hyena of the Rocky Mountains
The Taxidermised Shunka Warak'in. Photo: Cryptid Wiki
The Shunka Warak’in is a hyena-like creature from Native American mythology that has been spotted in the Rocky Mountains. A museum in Montana claims to have one on display.
What is the Shunka Warak’in
For centuries, an unknown predator has been preying on domesticated animals throughout the plains of Montana.
According to Native American lore, the shunka warak’in is a non-wolf canid that sneaks into camps at night and steals dogs.
After a fierce encounter with the shunka warak’in, in which the Ioway tribe was victorious, they took pieces of its hide and incorporated them into sacred bundles worn during battle to make them impervious to attacks. Loren Coleman popularized the term after using it in his book, "Cryptozoology A to Z."
Despite the creature's resemblance to a wolf, it has been referred to by many other names, such as the Beast and the Rocky Mountain hyena.
Due to the absence of wolves in the state for a significant portion of the 20th century the appearance of a wolf-like creature was quite an event.
The shunka warak’in is notorious for attacking dogs, cows, sheep, and anything else that is easily accessible behind a fence. Unfortunately, the absence of a carcass has made it difficult to determine the creature's identity.
Israel Ammon Hutchins, a settler in the Madison Valley of Montana, faced a problem in 1886 as an unknown creature was attacking his and his neighbors' animals. The creature was dark and resembled a canine, producing a unique and terrifying scream at night.
One morning, Hutchins was alerted by his dogs' barking and discovered the creature chasing his geese. The canid had a dark coat, high shoulders, and a slanted back. Hutchins attempted to shoot the creature but ended up accidentally killing one of his cows instead.
On a subsequent occasion, Hutchins aimed and shot the unknown creature, unintentionally killing one of his cows instead. In exchange for the dead animal, Hutchins received a new cow from a businessman and taxidermist named Joseph Sherwood, who mounted and exhibited the creature in his grocery store and museum in Henry Lake, Idaho.
Sherwood gave the creature the name "ringdocus," although the reason for this name is unclear. Despite Sherwood's passing, the ringdocus remained on display at least until the 1980s, after which it’s whereabouts were lost to history.
The only surviving proof of the stuffed ringdocus's existence was a black-and-white photo published in naturalist Ross Hutchins's autobiography in 1977.
Ross Hutchins was the grandson of the original ringdocus slayer. In the photo, the creature resembled a wolf, but it also had unique features such as a distinctive facial shape and back arch. The caption of the photo was Guyasticutus, which some believe was a humorous name given to a fake creature to sell tickets.
The legend of the elusive creature and its missing body persisted, and Lance Foster, a member of the Ioway tribe and a paranormal enthusiast, suggested that the beast could be a shunka warak’in.
Shunka Warak’in on Display
After Sherwood's museum closed down, the taxidermy collection was donated to the Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello and stored away. One of the taxidermied animals turned out to be the shunka warak'in, which was around four feet in length, dark gray in color with vague stripes on its flanks.
Eventually, Jack Kirby, one of Israel Hutchins' grandsons, discovered this and managed to persuade the museum to lend it to the Madison Valley History Museum in Ennis, Montana.
Kirby personally took it there after visiting his grandfather's grave to reunite the two cryptozoology legends. The creature, known as the Beast, has been the most popular exhibit at the museum for over a decade.
Have you ever seen a Shunka Warak’in? Let us know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this article you might also be interested in the Ozark Howler or the Palmyra Wolves.
