A man shot and killed an animal on his ranch in Montana this month, and wildlife officials are totally perplexed about what it is.
The wolf-like creature doesn't fit the usual profile of either a wolf or a domestic dog, so state officials gathered DNA samples in an attempt to figure out what the hell it is.
Explaining how the creature was found, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks says, "The animal came within several hundred yards of the rancher’s livestock. He shot it and reported it as required by law. The animal was a young, non-lactating female and a canid, a member of the dog family, which includes dogs, foxes, coyotes and wolves.”
The DNA sample has been sent to a lab in Oregon, but it could take months for those results to come back. So, for now, the mystery continues.
The department tweeted out a follow-up video that explained "the strongest suspicion is that it's a wolf-dog hybrid"
Of course, there's also the possibility that it could be a hoax. As HuffPost points out, performance artist Zardulu retweeted a story about the animal. In the past, Zardulu has been responsible for bizarre animal hoaxes like a three-eyed fish in Brooklyn and the viral "pizza rat."
Asked if she had anything to do with the wolf-like creature, Zardulu replied with a winky face emoji and said, "If at first you don’t succeed, try try again."
