A rancher in Denton, Montana, shot and killed a wolf-like creature that came too close to his herd of livestock. After shooting the creature, the rancher called Montana wildlife officials because of the unusual characteristics exhibited by the creature.

Experts are sure that it isn't a wolf but aren't sure exactly what it is.

Wolf-Like Creature In Montana

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) department had to release a statement about the wolf-like creature that the rancher killed when it approached the farm. In the statement, it says that the rancher shot and killed a wolf-like animal on May 16 near Denton, Montana. It says that wildlife officials and the public aren't certain of the species of the animal.

The news release says that the wolf-like creature came within several hundred yards of livestock in the ranch. It is legal for ranchers in Montana to shoot wolves if they come too close to their livestock. The rancher adhered to the law by shooting and then reporting it to the authorities.

Wildlife officials say that the animal was a young, non-lactating female and that it is a canid, which would put it in the dog family of foxes, coyotes, and wolves. Originally, the animal was reported to be a wolf, but wolf specialists at the department determined that it couldn't be a purebred wolf.

Some of the details that threw officials off were the short canine teeth of the animal, smaller than normal front paws, and claws on the front paw that was too long. The Montana FWP decided that instead of guessing the species of the animal, it would send tissue samples to be analyzed at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon.

They say that at the laboratory, DNA will be extracted from the cells that could show specific markers to be able to identify it with a species. Officials say that the process may take a week or more depending on the backlog at the lab.

Social media has speculated as to what the creature could be, ranging from cryptids such as Bigfoot and dogman to suggestions that the unidentified canid could be a dire wolf. Detailed analysis of a tissue sample would definitely reveal what sort of animal the rancher killed.

One of the more realistic possibilities is that the animal could be a dog-wolf hybrid. These hybrids are able to have offspring, unlike other hybrid animals.