An unfamiliar yet beautiful-looking animal was recently caught on camera, and it seems even experts are at a loss for words.

Voyageurs Wolf Project, an organization focused on understanding the ecology of wolves in Minnesota, posted a cryptic video on X earlier this month featuring what looked to be a coyote-dog hybrid.

At its core, the animal looked like a coyote, but some features were more “dog-like,” inviting viewers to speculate about what it may be. 

Experts are baffled after a mysterious hybrid creature was caught on camera

Image credits: Getty / Unsplash (Not the actual photo)

After declaring readers to be the detectives of this puzzling case, the caption of the initial social media post read, “So, what do you think this animal is? We whole-heartedly welcome outlandish speculation, conspiracy theories, and technically possible though highly improbable explanations.

“To us, the animals looks ‘coyote-esque’ but has some dog-like aspects to its appearance (especially its ears), and possibly some wolf-like characteristics (e.g. robust snout, a bit bigger body than coyotes in our area… but these are attributes from some dogs as well).” 

Image credits: VoyaWolfProject

They later called the creature an “elusive ‘wolf-dog’ — a rare hybrid of all 3 canids!?!?” before labeling it as a joke. 

In a different post, the organization showed a video of an average coyote and a wolf roaming the area, saying the clip was the typical appearance of what the creatures would look like—none of which fit the description of the mysterious canine. 

Theories on what the animal could be trickled in following the organization’s invitation to throw in more guesses

Image credits: VoyaWolfProject

One person suggested it was the offspring of two animals.

“I’m not sure how a wild Dingo would get to Minnesota from Australia but it almost looks like a Dingo mated with a Wolf and this was the hybrid of that,” read the comment. “The face and ears are almost identical on a wolf body. Thoughts?” 

Another theorized, “The ears were probably either chewed by a sibling when it was younger or damaged by frost bite. Both happen quite often to canids.”

“I think it is a odd colored wolf with leucistic condition basically a wolf losing fur color and slowly turning white not to be mistaken for albinosm,” said a third.

There are still millions of species humans have yet to discover

Image credits: VoyaWolfProject

We know social media loves a good mysterious canine story…so check out this animal we got on camera last winter.

So, what do you think this animal is? We whole-heartedly welcome outlandish speculation, conspiracy theories, and technically possible though highly-improbable… pic.twitter.com/tRs8SY7UDi

— Voyageurs Wolf Project (@VoyaWolfProject) November 5, 2024

According to the Science Museum of Virginia, about 1.2 million species have been recorded by science. Still, approximately 8.7 million species have yet to be discovered and named.

These numbers were determined using ecosystem and biodiversity calculations to help scientists understand the variations involved in different ecosystems and biomes. Supposedly, 86% of the species living on land and 91% of those living underwater have yet to be studied.

Poll Question

Thanks! Check out the results:

Newsletter

Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls

Subscribe

By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.

Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!

Games

View all games

Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing!

Follow Bored Panda on Google News!

Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda!