Wildlife officials are analyzing DNA to identify an strange “ wildcat - like ” animal . On May 16 , the lonely creature was shot and killed on a folk ranch in Denton , Montana after it was fleck in a pasture with farm animal .
Game wardens responded to the scene , collect the dead animal and post photos to the agency ’s wolf specialist in a nearby metropolis .
“ Based on the picture , [ the specialist ] has some doubts as to whether or not it ’s a pure - bred wolf or hybrid of a wild dog-iron of sorts , ” Montana Fish , Wildlife and Parks warden Sargeant Kyle Andersenetolda local radio post .
The animal was then transported to a science lab in Bozeman , Montana where it is awaiting rating by the state veterinarian . official wo n’t be able to say with certainty exactly what it is until DNA samples are analyzed . Until then , there are some working possibility .
Ty Smucker , wolf direction specialist for Montana FWP , told a localnewspaperhe think the animal could be a wolf - dog cross and it would n’t be the first meter .
“ We ’ve had a few instance of wolf - frump hybrids out there , ” he said . “ One was out somewhere in eastern central Montana killing sheep like crazy . eventually , we caught it and it turned out to be hybrid . ” Wolves areknownin the State Department to predate on livestock and can cost the state upwards of $ 100,000 annually in livestock departure .
Montana Fish , Wildlife and Parks
of course , theInternethad a few ideas of its own . TheNorth American Dogma Projectjumped on board . Other theories drift from the mysteriousChupacabrato the Hyena - likeShunka Warakin , and even the prehistoricDire wolf . All ideas that , while entertaining , are not totally founded in science .
The truth is : dogs can actually breed with savage . Dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ) and skirt chaser ( Canis lupus ) areinterfertile , meaning the two can hybridize and produce offspring . In theory , skirt chaser can multiply with any character of dog ( although a wolf - pug hybrid might be hard to achieve ) because the two percentage anevolutionary past .
While it does n’t happen often – wolves are territorial and often kill interloper – it has been documented . In 2014 , a team of researchers in Georgia ’s Caucasus Mountainsanalyzedhair , blood , and scat singing sample from wolves , mutts , and sheepdogs . It turns out , the livestock - guarding frank ( whose sole purpose is to keep wolves away from sheep ) had aim to befriend the foe : 10 pct of the beast had a recent congeneric that was not of their coinage and three percent were a first - generation hybrid .
[ H / T : KXLOandGreat Falls Tribune ]
