Incredible footage has revealed a mystery beast stalking the woods of northern Minnesota, leaving researchers baffled as to what the species could be.
The Voyageurs Wolf Project, a University of Minnesota research group, shared incredible trail camera footage on Facebook that showed an unusual canine roaming the wilderness.
The sighting has sparked fierce debate over whether the animal is a rare wolf-dog hybrid, with researchers claiming theyve never seen anything like this.
The animal, described as wolf-like and dog-like, was captured on camera multiple times between winter and March 20.
This was one of the stranger observations we had this winter, Jack London of the group posted on Facebook on August 20. A wolf-like, dog-like canid of sorts roaming the area. It sort of looks like a mix between a wolf and a malamute or something.
Incredible footage has revealed a mystery beast stalking the woods of northern Minnesota , leaving researchers baffled as to what the species is
The Voyageurs Wolf Project, a University of Minnesota research group, shared incredible trail camera footage on Facebook showing an unusual canine roaming the wilderness
The mysterious creature was spotted over 10 times across the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem, primarily traveling alone.
However, on two occasions it was seen in the company of adult wolves, deepening the mystery surrounding its identity.
Our first two observations - Feb 29 and Mar 3 - were of this animal and two actual adult wolves roaming around. But none of the wolves in this pack were part of a resident pack in our area.
The one sequence of all three shows just how different this canids appearance is from the wolves in our area.
Researchers said they have never seen a wolf who looks like this.
The animal, described as wolf-like and dog-like, was captured on camera multiple times between winter and March 20
The mysterious creature was spotted over 10 times across the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem, primarily traveling alone
They are puzzled by the animals appearance, particularly its unusual coloring and size and have proposed two main theories to explain the creatures origins: a mutated wolf - making it extra large and fluffy - or a wolf-dog hybrid
They are puzzled by the animals appearance, particularly its unusual coloring and size and have proposed two main theories to explain the creatures origins: a mutated wolf - making it extra large and fluffy - or a wolf-dog hybrid, which is a cross between a wolf and a domestic dog.
Notably, we have never seen a wolf that looks like this but we suspect that either this canid is a wolf with some strange mutation that makes it super fluffy and extra large (seems unlikely but trying to think through the options)…or it is a wolf-dog hybrid, London wrote
Since we have seen no evidence that wolves are breeding with dogs in our area or heard of this occurring in northern Minnesota, we think it most likely—if it is indeed a hybrid—that the animal is a hybrid that was either released or escaped.
The group emphasized that their speculation is only a hypothesis and there are no confirmed answers as to what the mystery beast is and where it came from at this time.
Of course, this is all speculation and your guess is as good as ours. Just trying to think of the most likely explanation. Or perhaps this is the re-incarnation of Londons Buck from Call of the Wild.
Back in April, a pack of wolf-dog hybrids terrorized a neighborhood for months, killing at least two area pets.
In April, a pack of wolf-dog hybrids in Shingeltown, California, terrorized a neighborhood for months, killing at least two other dogs belonging to residents
Officers have already taken one of the at least dogs into custody, after the owner surrendered it. That undertaking, which happened on March 25, is seen here
The seven feral animals attacked and killed a medium sized pet dog on March 26, and struck again last week, local police said.
The crisis occurred in Shingeltown, California, a small town located along California State Route 44 in the hills just below Mount Lassen.
There, residents claimed that spotting the roving pack was an almost daily occurrence, and demanded action.
Officers took one of the dogs into custody after the owner surrendered it. In a statement, cops in the town of just over 2,000 said they were looking into the incidents.