Since I’ve been talking a great deal about the Shunka Warak’in lately, one of the most frequent questions that comes up is about the “DNA results.”

For example, here is one inquiry from yesterday (no, I don’t make these up; I don’t have to):

“OK. The mount of the Ringdocus (and I use Ringdocus because I can’t spell Shunka Warak’in) was found and DNA samples taken, but I never found out about the results. Does anyone know what resulted from the testing? I love this cryptid BTW.”

The actual fact is that no one has done any DNA testing on the hair, fur, hide, or alleged teeth of the mount going by the names “Ringdocus,” “Shunka Warak’in,” and “Mystery Beast,” now housed in a museum in Ennis, Montana.

Shunka Warak’in.

Simply put, the animal is caught in a spider’s web of red tape. The stalling point presently is that the animal is in one museum on exhibition, but the taxidermy mounted animal does not belong to that museum. It has only borrowed from another museum. The current exhibiting museum does not have the legal right to order a DNA test.

Although pressure is being placed on them to obtain DNA testing, privately and confidentially, I’ve been told there seems to be some active lobbying being done to avoid conducting the test.

It seems that some of the powers that be are resisting doing any DNA testing because they wish to retain the mysterious mystic of the taxidermy item.

Indeed, both museums may feel some need to not have a test done due to their sense it would be a less attractive exhibit.

Of course, from both zoological and cryptozoological points of view, now that this item, the classic Ringdocus has been discovered after over a century, I do not feel any of the enigmatic nature of the animal will be lessened if a final scientific verdict is given on what it’s DNA says it is.

Photographs © Lance Foster 2009

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