#ringdocus

SHUNKA WARAK’IN, or RINGDOCUS- MONTANA

Until just a few thousand years ago there was considerably more megafauna diversity in North America than there is today. Most famous of these large Pleistocene mammals, of course, were the mammoths, mastodons and sabertooth cats. But there were many more, as well. Camels and horses. Giant ground sloths. American cheetahs (actually more closely related to pumas than African cheetahs). Hell pigs. A Shovel-tusked elephant called Amebelodon. Beavers as big as black bears. Muscular, bulky amphicyonids or bear-dogs (which were not canids proper, but may have been related to modern dogs). And dozens more. Sadly the majority of North America’s megafauna were killed off in the late Pleistocene by a combination of changing climate and competition with/hunting by humans. But what if a few of these ancient beasts survived? Perhaps a small population of animals somewhere in the open prairies and shrublands of the West?

In 1886 Montana rancher Israel Ammon Hutchins shot an unusual wolf-like beast on his land. He gave the body to taxidermist Joseph Sherwood who mounted it and put it on display in his Idaho general store/museum. The animal, eventually dubbed the “Ringdocus”, was similar to a wolf but with a few striking differences. Its coat was tan with patches of black and faint dark stripes along the flanks and haunches. Its head was also narrower and more pointed than a wolf’s. Hutchins also claimed that the beast had humped shoulders like a hyena, though the stuffed body shows no sign of this feature.

Over time the stuffed Ringdocus became associated with a legendary beast of the Ioway people known as the Shunka Warak’in (according to writer and archaeologist Lance Foster, the final “n” is not pronounced, and serves simply to nasalize the “ee” sounds before it) which translates to “Carries Off Dogs” because of its alleged habit of killing and eating a tribe’s canines.

But what exactly was the Ringdocus/Shunka Warak’in that Hutchins shot? Was it an unusual-looking wolf? An unknown canine breed? Poor taxidermy? Or could it have been a representative of a heretofore thought extinct genus of Pleistocene mammals? Some cryptozoologists have speculated that it could have been a surviving dire wolf or Chasmaporthetes, the American hyena. Others have suggested that it may have been a relative of the Borophagus or “Bone-crushing Dog”- another dog-like mammal group unrelated to true canines.

Possession of the Ringdocus has been contested over the years. When Sherwood’s museum/store closed, its collection- including the mystery beast- was given to the Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello, where most of it remained in storage. in 2007 the creature mount was tracked down by a man named Jack Kirby (unrelated to the famed comic book artist), who claims he is a direct descendant of Israel Hutchins and brought to the Madison Valley History Museum near Ennis, Montana. This was not without some protest from residents of Pocatello, who wanted the Ringdocus to remain in their city.

The obvious solution to figuring out the identity of the Ringdocus/Shunka Warak’in would be to perform a thorough scientific examination of the mount, including a DNA test. However, Kirby is reluctant to “ruin” his family’s 140-year old mystery by having it analyzed.  So, for now, the true nature of the Ringdocus must remain unknown.

On an interesting additional note, in a story for Paranormal Montana archaeologist Lance M. Foster mentions that while researching the sacred bundle system of the Ioway people, he came across papers from anthropologist Alanson Skinner detailing an item from the “Big Ioway War Bundle” that was referred to as a Hyena or “canka iwarawakya” skin (the latter should more accurately be spelled shunka iwarawakiya, according to Foster) which means “carrying off dogs”. Could this be more evidence of the mystery beasts lurking in the Western wilderness? In 2009 Foster was interviewed for a student film project about the Ringdocus/ Shunka Warak'in which you can watch in full here.

SOURCES

Lance Foster's detailed story of his findings on the Shunka Warak'in mount

A post from Mysterious Universe about Montana Monsters that includes the Shunka Warak'in

An article from Cryptomundo about possible Shunka Warak'in sightings

An article from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle about the Ringdocus' return to Montana

A short post from the Native-Languages website about the Ioway legends of the Shunka Warak'in

An Unknown Explorer post on the Shunka Warak'in

Website of the Madison Valley History Associaton, which runs the Museum that currently houses the Ringdocus

In 1886, Mormon settler Israel Ammon Hutchins raised his G.W. Morse rifle at a strange creature that had roamed onto his ranch, and fearing for his livestock, he shot it. Ever since that day, the identity of this creature, dubbed the “Ringdocus”, has remained not truly known.

“Amphicyon longiramus” © Mauricio Anton. Accessed at his blog, Chasing Sabretooths, here

[Dog-like cryptids have gone by a number of names over the years, including waheela (attributed to Ivan T. Sanderson) and shunka warakin (Loren Coleman). I’m not using either of those names. Why? Both are claimed to be Native American legends, but I haven’t found any authentically native sources, just the say-so of cryptozoologists I frankly don’t trust. I also want to call to attention the existence of the ringdocus, a rare case of a mystery animal actually stuffed and mounted. Sure, it’s probably just a poorly mounted wolf carcass, but what if it isn’t?]

Ringdocus CR 6 N Animal This musclebound beast looks like a cross between a bear and a dog with a long, sinuous tail. Its head and jaws are massive for its size.

The ringdocus, sometimes called “bear-dog” or “amphicyon”, is a beast of remote hilly landscapes. Although they stand four feet high at the shoulder and can grow ten feet long, they prefer to consume small game and carrion over killing larger animals. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t ornery or aggressive, however—a ringdocus is an expert at scaring smaller carnivores, including humanoids, away from their kills.

Ringdocuses are typically solitary creatures, although the mothers are caring parents that rear their pups until they reach adult size. These subadult ringdocuses may travel together for a while if food is common, but they go their separate ways with the coming of the snows. Unlike bears, ringdocuses are typically active all winter long, and may wander into human settlements in search of food in the dead of winter.

Ringdocus as Animal Companions Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 40 ft..; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d8); Ability Scores Str 16, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 9; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.

7th-Level Advancement:  Size Large; AC +3; Attack bite (2d6); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex -2, Con +4; Special Attacks crushing critical, trip

This taxidermy animal is known as the Shunka Wara’kin (also known as the Ringdocus) was shot and killed in 1886. Israel Ammon Hutchins shot the beast on his ranch in modern day Cameron, Montana. It had gone missing for quite some time and was re-discovered in the storeroom of an Idaho museum. 

Si estas viendo esto, probablemente ya has escuchado hasta el hartazgo sobre mothman, la criatura del lago ness y pie grande, por eso, en plenus idee, hemos decidido hablar sobre criptidos menos conocidos, en esta ocasión te traemos la poca información disponible del casi comprobado / casi desmentido shunka warakin o shunka warak'in (o Ringdocus para los que ya conocen mas de esta criatura)

The Shunka Warak'in

The Skunka Warak'in, or Ringdocus, is a reddish-brown canine that resembles a wolf or hyena. It can be found in Native American folklore, and is one of America's lesser known cryptids. It has been credited for many livestock kills throughout the years. Shunka Warak'in roughly translates to "carrying off dogs" in Ioway. 

In 1886, Israel Hutchins shot the creature pictured above at the Sun Ranch in Montana. It was later stuffed and put on display by Joseph Sherwood. Unsure of what the hyena-like creature might be, Sherwood named it Ringdocus. It was eventually stolen, and stayed missing until 2007 when it was rediscovered by Jack Kirby, grandson of Israel Hutchins. Cryptozoologists claim that Ringdocus might be a Shunka Warak'in, and the only physical evidence of the cryptid, at that. The creature resembles descriptions of a Shunka Warakin perfectly.

Due to some legal issues, and to keep an air of mystery, the current owners of the taxidermy animal have never ordered a DNA test. It resembles multiple canine animals, but no one can say specifically what it is. Some believe it is a wolf or hyena that was incorrectly stuffed during the taxidermy process, but others believe it is an undocumented canine and possibly a Shunka Warak'in. Another theory is that it is a surviving Borophagus, a species that went extinct in the Pleistocene Era. 

The taxidermy specimen has been displayed in the Madison Valley History Museum, Montana. Ross Hutchins, Israel's grandson with a Ph. D. in zoology, published the book Trails to Nature's Mysteries: The Life of a Working Naturalist in 1977,and included his grandfather's accounts of Ringdocus. He also suggested it was some sort of escaped circus animal, though there were no circuses in the area.