Ringdocus is the name given to an unidentified animal shot by Israel A. Hutchins, a Mormon settler in Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 in 1886. Hutchins had it stuffed by a local taxidermist

Taxidermy

Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...

, Joseph Sherwood, who put it on display at his general store near Henry's Lake, Idaho until the 1980s when it mysteriously disappeared. DNA testing has never been conducted on the animal.

In 2007, Jack Kirby, grandson of the man who shot the animal, tracked it down to the Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello. The specimen was displayed in the Madison Valley History Museum when it reopened in May 2007.

The Ringdocus in Art

In 2008, Todd Freeman, a printmaker from Grand Rapids, MI, referenced the unusual story of the beast in his copper etching "Score of the Ringdocus (I'm Just Too Scared of Wolves)". The print depicts a stylized rendering of the infamous Hutchin's mount, perched beneath a stormcloud of canid teeth. The image also features several measures of the French-Canadian hunting favorite "Je suis juste trop effrayé des loups" ("I'm Just Too Scared of Wolves") to tribute the supposed threat and mystery of the animal, and also as a gentle nod to the likelihood of the specimen's familiar nature. Freeman's work often references stories of beasts and beings from classic and contemporary world folklore, including cryptozoology reports. The Trunko

Trunko

Trunko is the nickname for an animal or globster reportedly sighted in Margate, South Africa, on October 25, 1924, according to an article entitled "Fish Like A Polar Bear" published in the December 27, 1924, edition of London's Daily Mail. The animal was reputedly first seen off the coast battling...

 sea-beast, Tatzelwyrm

Tatzelwurm

In Alpine folklore, the Tatzelwurm is a worm-like creature. It is reported to live in several areas of Europe, including the Austrian, Bavarian, Italian and Swiss Alps....

s, Momo

Momo the Monster

Momo is the name of a local legend, similar to the Bigfoot, which is reported to live in Missouri. The name Momo is short for 'Missouri Monster' and it is reported to have a large, pumpkin-shaped head, with a furry body, and hair covering the eyes. First reported in July 1971, near Louisiana,...

 and the Flatwoods monster

Flatwoods monster

The Flatwoods Monster, also known as the Braxton County Monster or the Phantom of Flatwoods, is an alleged unidentified extraterrestrial or cryptid reported to have been sighted in the town of Flatwoods in Braxton County, West Virginia, on September 12, 1952...

have all appeared amongst Freeman's naturalist-inspired prints. More of his work can be seen online at http://www.toddfreeman.net.