Mysterious Creature Killed in Montana, USA is NOT a Dire Wolf After All

Mysterious Creature Killed in Montana, USA is NOT a Dire Wolf After All!

Image courtesy of Montana Fish, Parks & Wildlife

It seem that the mystery of a seemingly bizarre “wolf-like” creature that was shot and killed in Montana, USA last month has finally been solved! It turns out that the animal is NOT a dire wolf, chupacabra or some strange genetically-modified hybrid, as many had theorized when pictures of the creature had first surfaced on the internet and social media last month. The animal was really just a regular and quite common gray wolf all along!

The results of DNA testing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensic laboratory in Oregon show that the strange looking lupine creature was nothing more than a female gray wolf. The gray wolf is a type of wolf species, but the color among different individuals can vary substantially and is not always gray. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks announced the results in a press release on Monday.

A rancher shot and killed the wolf on his property near the town of Denton, MT. Realizing that the animal didn't look like a normal wolf or any other animal native to the area, he brought the carcass to state wildlife authorities. They were initially puzzled by the animal's appearance, and they speculated that the animal may have been some sort of wolf-dog hybrid, or something similar. The officials then sent the carcass to their field lab in Bozeman, Montana for further inspection and testing. The researchers at the lab took tissue samples from the animal, which were then sent to their Oregon lab for DNA testing and species identification.

According to the statement by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, it seems that some of the initial confusion about the creature was due to the poor condition of the animal combined with poorly-taken photos, which seemed to show that the creature had short legs and big ears. When researchers examined the animal in person at their Bozeman facility, they quickly realized that they just had a relatively normal looking, dark brown wolf.

Another mystery solved, and a disappointing bit of news for those hoping that the creature was a new and/or unidentified species!