Photo Credit: Madison Valley History Association

This article was first published in the Montana Pioneer, October 2017

 RETT NELSON

A strange creature roamed the Madison Valley in the 1800s, terrorizing settlers and killing livestock.

Israel Hutchins shot and killed the specimen in 1886 after it killed some of his cattle, according to Lee Robison, President of the Madison Valley History Association.

Ross Hutchins, Israel Hutchins’ grandson, wrote a book in 1977 entitled Trails to Nature’s Mysteries: The Life of a Working Naturalist. In the book, he explained that his grandfather made several attempts to kill the creature.

“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.”

Hutchins went on to say the beast got away, but his grandfather saw it several more times on his property. Other ranchers saw it as well.

“Then one morning in late January, my grandfather was alerted by the dogs, and this time he was able to kill it.”

Episode 3: The First Encounter from Ringdocus on Vimeo.

By this time, word had spread of the animal sightings. Others were curious to see what it looked like.

“One of the people who saw it was a taxidermist and he said he’d like to have it for his museum,” said Don Kirby, Israel Hutchins’ great grandson, in an episode of the Discovery Channel’s “True Supernatural.”

Robison told the Pioneer Madison Valley History Museum in Ennis acquired the beast from Sherwood Museum in Henry’s Lake, Idaho years ago.

The beast’s features strike observers as unusual, even strange—the long, narrow snout and sloping back with long, slender legs and a black, striped coat.

Photo Credit: bozemanmagazine.com

Before anyone ever saw the beast, it was the howl that immediately got Hutchins’ attention.

“They heard it howling off in the distance. It sounded more like a scream,” said Kirby in the documentary.

The identity of the beast is a source of debate and speculation. Hutchins stated in his book that the man who ran the museum in Idaho called the creature Ringdocus. A native American legend refers to the beast as Shunka Warak’in.

Episode 1: An Ioway Legend from Ringdocus on Vimeo.

Lance Foster, an anthropologist and ancestor of the indigenous Ioway Indians, explained what this means in the Discovery Channel episode.

“Before the coming of the white man, there were many kinds of mysterious animals that lived in this land. Something would come in at night and steal their dogs. So they began to call it Shunka Warak’in—something that carries off dogs.”

Foster said the tribe laid a trap for the animal, chased it and shot it. According to legend, the arrows would bounce off the animal’s skin, adding a supernatural element to the story.

Other theories suggest the beast is a descendant of the Borophagus, an ancient canine predator thought to be extinct.

Steve Primm, a carnivore specialist with Northern Rockies Conservation, stated in the documentary,

“It’s conceivable that a remnant of some long ago species could survive. In a place like this with mountains and valleys, we have more places like that for a creature to hide and thrive.”

Primm also said it could be a birth defect resulting from exposure to toxic elements, such as heavy metals. Yellowstone National Park is known to have traces of heavy metals in the water.

Then again, Robison told the Pioneer it could also be a product of cross breeding, possibly a wolf-hyena hybrid.

“People who study diminishing populations in an animal have found there is a greater likelihood for breeding between subspecies and even across species when suitable mates are in short supply.”

Others have said it could be a mutant. Robison even suggested the beast’s appearance could simply be the result of the taxidermist’s efforts.

“Unfortunately, there is no concrete evidence one way or the other.”

Efforts to uncover the creature’s identity through DNA testing was an option on the table at one point. Those efforts now appear to be at a standstill.

According to the documentary, the reason testing has not happened on the animal is because it is not clear whether Madison Valley has legal ownership of the specimen. This dates back to the time Madison Valley History Museum first acquired the specimen.

“I’m pretty confident legal ownership was transferred to Madison Valley when we obtained the beast. I’m not 100-percent positive, though,” said Robison.

Sherwood Museum has since closed down.

Kevin Brenneke, a Madison Valley History Museum board member, offered a different explanation. She said the family of Israel Hutchins is preventing DNA testing from happening to perpetuate the mystery.

“So many people find interest in things that are weird, odd and out of sorts. Some people become obsessive with the idea of something strange in their presence, something that’s threatening or magic,” Robison said.

So far, the museum is honoring the family’s request that DNA not be tested. Robison, however, said he is hopeful testing can still happen.

“I would like to…see if I can change their mind…The reason I’ve never pushed the issue is because there is no real reason to do that, except I have a curiosity about the fact.”

Reports of unusual wolf sightings in the area have popped up in recent years. For example, one story indicates a mysterious wolf-like creature killed 120 livestock in 2005 or 2006. There were reports of ranchers seeking permits to kill the animal.

“An elusive animal that federal officials assumed was a feral dog was shot and killed from an airplane Nov. 2,” according to a New York Times article in December 2006. The article also stated wildlife officials had been hunting the animal for 10 months.

John Steuber, then Director of Wildlife Services in Billings, commented in the article about the creature’s appearance.

“A large canid that resembled a wolf is all I can say. Beyond that, it would be hard to make a call.”

The Times article went on to say, “At 105 pounds, however, the animal was much larger than a dog, closer to the size of the gray wolves that inhabit the Northern Rockies. Yet the feet were small, and the face pointed, uncharacteristic of wolves.”

Whether what is stated in the NYT article is related to the aforementioned sighting at all, is purely conjecture.

“I am not aware of any recent sightings in Montana or elsewhere,” said Robison.

Until the mystery can be solved, the beast’s identity remains an open question. The public can see the beast at the Madison Valley History Museum by appointment. The museum is located on Montana Highway 287 halfway between Ennis and Virginia City.

Note: Pictures and videos are not part of the original article.