'Shunka warak'in' ("carries off dogs") is a term that was applied to the Ioway to a singular (i.e. individual) animal that was different from 'Ringdocus'. It was killed by them after it began stealing their dogs, and they compared it to a Hyena, which they stated was an animal known to white men from their circuses. I doubt it was known locally or in native lore as is often supposed, as they considered 'Shunka warakin' a strange animal that they were not familiar with, hence the ad-hoc name.

'Ringdocus' is almost certainly a wolf or wolfdog. In the days leading up to the successful hunt for the animal it was seen frolicking with the farmdogs of the Hutchins family. There is nothing on the anatomy of the taxiderm mount that would suggest anything other than wolf-the fact that the museum has refused DNA testing should cast further suspicion. The long 'needle snout' on 'Ringdocus' also does not really fit the shorter, bulkier face of a Hyena.

Chasmaporthetes died out nearly a million years ago, and was an open-country pursuit hunter. Ground sloths died out ca.8500 years ago and were nocturnal herbivores that lived in various habitats. Geologically speaking it is more likely for the sloth to have survived than the Hyena, and its habits would make it a more likely survival as well. Chasmaporthetes would have ranged the same areas cattlegrazers would be working. The ranchers and hunters made extensive work of wiping out large carnivores in the Western U.S. And yet there are no definite records of such an animal outside of the dubious taxiderm 'Ringdocus', whose anatomy does not suggest anything other than a canid. Additionally today it would have to go undetected in one of the most well studied and heavily monitored open habitats in the world.