The mysterious “werewolf”-like creature that baffled Montana wildlife officials — and captured the curiosity of the country — when it was killed last month was actually a slightly deformed female gray wolf, DNA tests revealed Monday.
The beast, which had an oversized head, huge paws and oddly shaped ears, was shot dead by a rancher near Denton on May 16. Animal officials had no idea what the creature was for weeks.
But the canine’s body was later shipped to a forensic laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, where its genetic material was compared with thousands of DNA samples from wolves, coyotes and dogs, according to US Fish and Wildlife Service officials.
Scientists found there is no need to fear the full moon — the unusual critter was an 84.5-pound gray wolf from the northern Rocky Mountains. It was roughly 4 feet long and between 2 and 3 years old, officials said.
“Within species, there can be variability,” said Mary Curtis, a geneticist with the Wildlife Service.
Experts may have been confused about the animal’s species because of the angle at which it was photographed — which exaggerated the size of some of its features, wildlife officials said.
In mid-May, officials said the animal’s canine teeth and front paws were too short to be a wolf. Its big floppy ears and shaggy fur were nothing like a common canine, they said.
True believers took to Twitter with theories about what the odd beast could be, including a “dire wolf” — an extinct sabre-toothed canine that once roamed North America — and even a real-life werewolf.