The Shunka Warakin

koala · Site Admin Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 712

The Shunka Warakin (also shunka warak'in) is an American beast from cryptozoology and mythology that is said to resemble a wolf, a hyena or both. It was reported from the Great Plains during pioneer days, by both white settlers and Native American tribes. The sightings have become much less common in the last century, causing most supporters to suggest the animal is now extinct.

In the language of the American Indian Ioway people, shunka warak'in means "carries off dogs." The best evidence of its existence was a specimen shot around the 1899-1900 turn of the century by a member of the Hutchins clan in Montana. It appeared to be a wolf-like creature with a long head, slightly resembling a wild boar. Some people say it looks more like some prehistoric or Ice Age creatures, perhaps surviving to the present day, like the thylacine. The creature was later mounted in a general store in Henry Lake, Idaho, with the title "Ringdocus," given by zoologist Ross Hutchins, grandson of the man who shot it. This only known piece of physical evidence, a stuffed trophy, was never examined by qualified scientists and is now missing.

Cryptozoologists put forth a variety of prehistoric mammals as possible identities: hyaenodons, dire wolves, members of the subfamily Borophaginae (hyena-like dogs), or Chasmaporthetes (the only true American hyena).

It has also been suggested as being a possible candidate for the Beast of Bray Road which could tie the creature in with Skin-walker legends.