‘Mystery Animal’ Turns Out To Not Be A Mystery At All

A “mystery creature” shot on a ranch in Montana turn out to be not all that mysterious after all.  The animal was a gray wolf.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks officials initially weren’t certain what the creature was when a rancher shot it in May, noting that its legs, front claws, and canine teeth were shorter and its ears were bigger than those normally seen on wolves. But according to Newser, the mystery has been solved and the animal is actually a gray wolf.

An inspection of the animal at the agency’s laboratory, including DNA tests, revealed it to be a 2- or 3-year-old female gray wolf, though one with unique physical features. US Fish and Wildlife Service geneticist Mary Curtis says it’s not unusual for there to be physical variations of animals within a species, per the AP. Some online were hoping it turned out to be an extinct dire wolf or a mythical “dog man,” notes the Spokesman-Review. –Newser

The “dog man” is a mythical creature (meaning it doesn’t exist and no credible evidence of its existence has ever been discovered) that has legs like a canine but about 5 percent of “dogmen” have a dog’s head on a muscular human body.

The photo below was provided by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks shows the animal. It turned out to be a gray wolf.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks via AP

Authorities speculated that the bizarre-looking creature could have been a dog/wolf hybrid before the DNA tests confirmed it is actually just a gray wold, albeit with a strange appearance.