The Saber Wolf – Alaska’s Other Cryptid?

AlaskaCryptozoology reports from the vast state of Alaska indicate there’s another monster afoot in the frozen parts of the world! Is this mysterious creature a relic from the Ice Age, or something new coughed-up by evolution? CryptoVille shovels around searching for the truth!

Last Friday I was watching that new show on Destination America channel, Alaska Monsters. They mentioned this coming week’s episode will be about the saber wolf. I had never heard of that animal/cryptid, so I decided to do some research and see what else may be lurking in the wilds of the last great frontier!

Archaeological Record

To begin with, there was an animal called the Dire Wolf (Canis dirus) that lived in the Pleistocene era up to the most recent Ice Age. Its territory was the North American plains, so that’s pretty much the whole upper Mid-west to Western region, as well as Canada and Alaska.

SaberDireWolfbyFeralkynonDeviantFor some reason, people used to think this animal had long, saber tooth fangs and weighed upwards of 600 pounds, all of which they would use to hunt down and tear apart their unfortunate prey. (Artwork left by FeralKynon on Deviant.)

Thanks to more research done within the last decade, Science now tells us this wolf averaged about 100 – 150 pounds, but could grow up to 200 pounds. It was first thought this wolf was the predecessor of the dogs we know and love today, as well as the gray wolf, but DNA studies done in 2007 at UCLA, proved that was untrue.  The Dire Wolf seems to have died off in the last Ice Age, while another wolf species (Canis lepophagus) went on to survive and become the predecessor of today’s gray wolf and dogs.

The Dire wolf had bone-crushing jaws but archaeological evidence suggests it was a scavenger as well as a hunter. It was a social animal like wolves today, living in packs.

SaberDireWolfRealisticScientists also report that the brains of the Dire Wolf were smaller than those of today’s gray wolf. The Dire Wolf had short, stubby legs which they estimate could run about as fast as a house cat. (More realistic portrayal of the Dire Wolf, right, artist unknown.)

My first thought was that this animal may be a hangover from the Ice Age, still hiding out in the remote areas of Alaska. It could have been renamed by locals as the ferocious predator, the Saber Wolf. But that sounds less likely the more I read about Canis dirus.  Moving on.

Mythology of the Beast

The first fossil remains of the Dire Wolf were discovered in 1854 and people of the day were so fascinated and horrified that a mythology about the creature seemed to spring to life. Namely, they determined the animal was huge, muscular, of savage temperament, with diabolical saber-toothed fangs and glowing green eyes.

This description was picked-up in recent times by a variety of role-playing games and novels.

Odin_and_FenrirSome say the old Viking tale of Odin and Fenrir was the root of this legend. Fenrir was a humongous wolf that Odin chained as a pup. Once Fenrir grew to adult size, it turned on Odin and killed him. Odin’s son avenged his father’s death, killing Fenrir. A Dire Wolf is thought to have been the source for Fenrir’s description, but there’s one problem with that. The Viking poem describing all this was written in the 13th century. No one knew about Dire Wolves until 1854.  So I think we can put all that aside. (Artwork left by Dorothy Hardy, 1909, Odin and Fenrir.)

Do Saber Wolves Exist?

No one has the definitive answer to that, and I seriously doubt the TV program Alaska Monsters is going to shed any real light on whether it exists or not. (I hope I’m wrong!)

However, your intrepid host here has been wondering about this problem for a few days and I would like to share my conjecture with you. Remember this is only conjecture and theorizing – no actual proof.

Science seems pretty convinced that the Dire Wolf died out as the Ice Age ramped up. But they also say things like “probably, we think, it seems.” So they can’t say with 100% assurance at this point in time.

So, what if the Dire Wolf didn’t exactly die off, but instead mutated. I’m wondering about this because of something else I learned a couple years ago.

I was putting together an article about the Black Beasts of Britain. I learned that back in the 1600s, wealthy land owners feeling an economic pinch, let the animals from their menageries loose on the moors and in the forests around them.

I asked an expert in Evolutionary Genetics from the University of Florida if it was possible that in 400 or so years, those lions (and whatnot) could have evolved into their own species, different from their African cousins. He said it was biologically possible.  You can see that article here:

https://visitcryptoville.com/2012/06/27/black-beasts-of-britain-dartmoor-suffolk-norfolk/

So what if the Dire Wolf, instead of dying out completely, evolved a bit differently over the next 12,000 years (the length of the last Ice Age).  Four hundred years versus 12,000 years – a lot could happen.

Let’s add to this the fact that every time we see a show about Alaska, we hear how vast and unexplored it is. We learn about dozens of planes going down and disappearing into thin air (or so it seems).  It’s not the kind of terrain that weekenders can just go out and have a look around.

Dire Wolf and SmilodonNow there are some hearty souls who live in remote areas of that state, and who may have had some close encounters with the more elusive creatures of the Alaskan wilderness.  Could some of these encounters be with an animal more like the imagined Saber Wolf? (Artwork right depicts a pack of Dire Wolves surrounding a Saber Toothed Tiger.)

I would like to leave the door open on this possibility.  Yes, we know there are no living descendants of Dire Wolves, at least in the lower 48. Yes, dogs and gray wolves evolved from another wolf, not the Dire Wolves.

But what was happening up in the remote wilderness of Alaska over the last Ice Age, 12,000 years in the making? Time may eventually tell, but for now, it’s a fascinating theory, at least to me.

What do you think?

Please be sure to come back and visit CryptoVille any time. We’ve got lots of articles about all sorts of things that should interest lovers of strange and mysterious creatures, as well as strange phenomena. The Search bar (near the top right corner of the home page) works very well.  There is also a list of categories further below that, which you can browse.

Please also stop by our Facebook page, CryptoVille, where we share all manner of strange, beautiful, and sometimes silly things related to all things cryptid! Please Like our page while you’re there.

References

http://www.npca.org/news/magazine/all-issues/2013/spring/wolf-hunt.html

http://www.direwolfproject.com/mythology.html

http://www.wolfsongalaska.org/Mystery_Wolf_Alaska

 

27 comments

  1. I had really high hopes for “Alaska Monsters” but it seems that the producers were able to find people even more ridiculous than the “Mountain Monsters” cast….sigh.
    The content matter of the show interests me greatly but it was all I could do to sit through the first show without changing the channel. It was almost as if they put a beard on Matt Moneymaker and sent him to Alaska.

    I love learning about cryptids, especially ones I haven’t heard about before. I had heard about the Saber wolf but I never did any research on it. Unfortunately I doubt I will get any real info on them from this show either. There may be a few cursory anecdotes mentioned but mainly this show will consist of a bunch or rednecks (I’m one too so I can call them that, I have family that looks JUST like them) crashing through the woods, setting up traps that never catch what they are after, many “That’s him right over there” noises, eye shine, etc., that can’t be verified, a bunch of too convenient home videos that show (what to me looks like a CG’d) “THAT BIG SUMBI**H!” moving through the woods, and FAR too many “close encounters” by one of the cast members and cameramen.

    What I would like to see is some serious investigation by some people who have a smidgen of sense, along with some facts, conjecture, and personal accounts. Similar to what was done on MonsterQuest.
    I won’t give up on “Alaska Monsters” just yet but PLEASE tell me it’s going to get better than the first episode.

    • Oh Patrick, you sure did make me giggle with your comments!! I’m sure many of us agree with you 100%; I know I do.

      Sometimes I wonder why I watch these shows, but the characters, especially on Mountain Monsters, become somewhat endearing & I love to see what happens to them. Mind you, that has NOTHING to do with the cryptids they’re not finding!! (I don’t count finding a huge hog b/c they do that nearly every day in Texas – we ALL know about them.)

      Well, if someone funded me, I’d be happy to go out “there” with the skeptic/scientific approach – but with a twist. I’m sympathetic to the cryptid crowd and am always hoping they DO exist! No one would watch it, probably! LOL!!

      Thanks for visiting CryptoVille!! … Susan

    • I too find the cast really entertaining. They always see things that the cameramen are always a second too late in catching when they pan. It is reminiscent to those Ghost Hunter shows, “Did you hear that? …Did you see that?…. What was that?

      Regardless of how silly these types of show are we must remember there are many areas of the world yet to be truly explored. Also, cryptid studies and research is relatively still a fledgling science. We are always rediscovering species that were thought extinct being rediscovered. As a result anything is possible – so keep one’s mind open to the multitude of possibilities

      • I’m still hoping someone, somewhere finds the definitive evidence we need to convince science that some of these things exist!

        Thanks for visiting CryptoVille! … Susan

  2. Didn’t mountain monsters have a wolf they couldn’t catch too? I’m beginning to think these shows are a lot of bull. Monsters and mysteries in Alaska never mentioned this saber wolf, and now they have Swamp monsters. I really like watching the ghosts and cryptic shows but this is a little to much. I wish it was more like monster and mysteries.

    • Hi Cheryl! I think you’re right! They had some kind of wolf thing they were hunting. I think many of us agree with your opinion of these shows, but as another friend of CryptoVille mentioned (below), they at least bring these creatures to our attention. I hadn’t heard of most of them before, so it’s interesting in that sense.

      Thanks for stopping by CryptoVille! … Susan (CryptoVille)

  3. Hi, and thank you for your ongoing efforts, I truly do enjoy reading you, even if most of the time it is from within my email window because I’m so busy. It wouldn’t surprise me if several mammals from the last ice age still survived in some form way up in the remote wilderness of the north. I want to say that I believe most of the mockumentary shows on these days follow the same (already old) formula and don’t reveal any new information or evidence on the cryptids they “feature”. I suppose the one thing they do that is positive, however, is bring attention to some of these fascinating possibilities. I would much rather read about them here though instead of watch another hokey performance of “did you hear that, that’s definitely a squatch!” or similar LOL. Keep up the good work!

    • Thank you Matt! I will try to keep digging into these topics in the hope that we can get to the truth, if not right away, hopefully in the near future.

      I agree that these shows bring these creatures to light (if nothing else!). I’ve never heard of most of them before, so it’s a pleasure to have new cryptids to investigate!

      Thanks again! … Susan (CryptoVille)

  4. I just had to sit through the episode myself because my mom and brother are apparently “in to” the show… I actually did a paper in school on the native myth they referenced and don’t recall anything more than the Dire Wolf information. I think it is the same as Mountain Monsters honestly only different guys getting gun ho worked up about something they can’t get anything more than what you see with Big Foot shows.. And all can be fabricated honestly.

  5. Dude, there is no such thing as evolution, asking a “scientist” doesn’t make it true, once again, ugh, have you seen anything evolve? Has anyone showed any evidence it happens, red flag, red flag, red flag. Why being that you know the world revolves around pride, personal agendas, and money, would you, wow, wow, wow, not think for a second that “scientists” so called, or those believing in evolution wouldn’t also be influenced by such things? Get some wisdom man and get rid of that bias. Look, man: LIVING, FOSSILS. Do you know what those are? They aren’t really fossils, and are not something from evolution, it’s a term made by atheists. But explain why and how they can exist if evolution is true. YOU CANNOT, 100 PERCENT THERE IS NO EXPLANATION UNLESS YOU BELIEVE GOD MADE THE UNIVERSE AND DID NOT USE A SLOW, SLOW, ULTRA SLOW PROCESS OF SO CALLED EVOLUTION. There’s a ton of evidence for creation and amazingly you and millions of others won’t see it!

    • Hello chosenbygrace!

      First, I’m not a Dude, I’m a lady as you can see in my “About” tab.

      I respect your opinion and believe it or not, I can understand your viewpoint. Evolution isn’t necessarily a cut and dried theory.

      I’m Catholic and according to our belief (stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church), evolution is simply the best “working theory” we have as to how life came about on this planet. Science doesn’t negate the teachings of the Bible, as the old Testament has much wisdom to impart to all of us, but we don’t see the Old Testament as a literal account of the unfolding of the world.

      That’s why I respect evolution for what it is, perhaps not absolute proof, but certainly a good working theory.

      Since this is not a theological website, I suggest you turn your concerns and questions to people who are far more knowledgeable than I am in matters of Catholic faith:

      ewtn. com

      Thank you for visiting CryptoVille!

      … Susan (CryptoVille)

      • As a biologist, we very rarely go by 100%. Whenever we have a theory or hypothesis, we run an experiment, either manipulative or observational. To accept the hypothesis, we have to be 95% sure. Of course no one scientist or group of scientists can say definitively that this creature no longer exists, but they can say with a 95% probability that they are extinct. In the science world..the word probable as well as the word significant, have definitive meanings. As to your statement about the cryptids beasts in England, like the biologist at University of Florida stated, it is possible, however taking into account other factors, it is highly unlikely. The weather conditions in the British Isles are not favourable, but more so there is insufficient food source. Despite my username, I do believe that cryptids exist in the wild, even large mammalian cryptids. However, I’m not gullible and I have to look at these things with a critical mind. That’s what I have spend my years at university learning to do.

        • I’m glad you stopped by and commented, Skepticalbiologist! I always love when a scientist will enter the discussion.

          I understand your need for at least a 95% probability in your experiments/studies. That’s why I always tell the Villies that whatever evidence they find, it has to be SOOO good that it will meet or exceed that criteria. I’m longing for the day when we get it so that science can get involved in the studies of these creatures and hopefully implement conservation efforts to protect them.

          Thanks for visiting CryptoVille!

          … Susan (CrytpoVille)

    • Actually, evolution does exist. As a biologist, there are many published peer-reviewed journal articles showing evolution. Most of the animals studied are invertebrates simply because they have a low lifespan and so are easier to study. Drysophila melanogaster, commonly known as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly, is used as a model species for genetics as well as developmental and evolutionary biology.

  6. Every time i watch one of these shows, the first reaction is to get guns. How disgusting. Real scientists, eh? These people are effing ridiculous. NEVER Caught on camera! I bet these are the same people who believe the boogey man exsists. What a waste of good air.

    • Hi Atticus! You’re referring to the show Alaska Monsters? None of them are scientists, they’re just outdoorsmen who survive in very wild places. Hence the guns.

      Thank you for visiting CryptoVille! … Susan (CryptoVille)

  7. I love this show! Anything mystery, paranormal, weird, I think so many places in the world are not explored. Who are we to say indefinitely there is nothing there?

  8. Well my 2 cents are not really what most people want to hear.
    This programs thrive on BS there are no 220 pound wolves those big animals would not survive and sure as hell not in alaska. The sure have enough competition to get food enough by 1) mankind killing all they see just because they got scared or just because they can 2} real wolf packs and 3th the bears roaming around in search of prey. So claims like there are large places mankind has not visited is also alot of wishfull thinking. There are actually not really much places left where people have not invaded, or have visited. the only places which are not visited are those which are truly not worth visiting.But look around even the biggest mountains on the planet got human visitors seeking a thrill. Even when people know they can die like flies they still seek out these places. Alaska and Canada have huge spaces indeed but most are being visited by mankind more than most people want to tell. I have seen many films and pictures made from hunters using helicopters and other fast transports to hunt illegally in these countries.
    And i am pretty sure that police forces are not even able to catch any of these people anytime soon, yes indeed the lands are too big to get caught.
    But as far as i have understood alot of hunting is permitted and i am pretty sure non of the police forces in these countries are able to stop the majority of these hunts at all.
    So how could a larger animal not been found when these people raid both countries in the hunt for bigger game to kill. Non of these people would not brag about something that large and dangerous so i see all these programs as fiction stories.
    If you look at the monster stories which have spread over south america where people tell they have seen a snake being 30 metres long you instant know they are telling a tale and not reality, yes there have been large animals in the paste as some stories have been told about snakes in asia reaching lenghts over 10 metres but thye never survived because man killed those creatures allways. After that they simply could never reach those lenghts ever again why because mankind took over their territories. Taking away their prey and because at that time when people started exploring more and more wildernis most of it is never caught on camera ever. Anyway these programs show also instant my theory about super large predators having no chance of survival because the first thing they do is pull at the artillery and shoot even when they know it would be better to keep it alive if it really would exist
    So these programs are good for fill their pockets and give them a good income, but more than that ti can not see in this fictional programs.
    Ofcourse sometimes science is wrong we all know the fish which was found liiving at the coast of africa while the whole world was convinced it died out millions of years ago.
    But these programs keep popping up and feed people so called pictures and miovies which all are blurry and ofcourse they never get a good sharp picture which proofs us that its not simply another Hoax.
    Remember the grain circles even today several groups of people love to make new ones to feed the rest of the world thinking that aliens made them. Yes i know a few of these makers and for them its a sport to get it done unseen, the more and harder do they laugh when yet another reporter makes a story of their handyworks. the tools they sue are so darn simple and yet pretty darn imprewssive that you hard can believe a few simple tools like rope and some wooden plansk can do so much with that crop.
    I also allways say when people start to talk abut aliens visiting our planet, show me some real proof and tell me how they could come here when the nearest star system is so far away non of us ever would make it if we actually could travel towards these places. In fact i can promise you that will not ever happing during the lifespan humans have left now we are so far in destroying our homeworls already.
    Because i can asure you at one point nature strikes back to balance thinds out, the chance of of us surviving that onslaught will be minimal for sure.
    We have destroyed huge areas already by our poluting every habitat on the planet, huge spaces of oceans are void of fish and plants only jellyfish are able to survive there. Huge amount of plastic and human garbage roams in the seas, woods and what not. So the end of this disaster species is not yet finished as long as people like trump and friends rule in countries which are destroying the planet. For instance brasil which get paid to keep the jungle alive but each day huge areas get burned because farmers want more profit and the companies like bruynzeel need more lumber to sell for everyhting we use of do. Do not get me wrong i just call one name or brand but the list would become so long that non of you would ever be able to read all of the destructors of the planet and yes they are all huge names in the any industry all have butter on their heads and why simply because they have never enough.
    But i’ll stop my rant now else i would go on for hours.
    So for those who like these silly programs enjoy them but keep in your head that they never ever going to give you real proof about their fictional monsters.
    You never will see a good picture which can be examined to be real whci will show this fabel animals
    Do i believe their are still mysterious creatures to be found, yes i do but those are probably going to be found when we explore the great deeps in our oceans which are even today very hard to explore with very high risks of failure even though mankind has been a few times pretty deep. But neve rlong enough to really see the great mysteries it holds.

    • Hi Bronan! We appreciate hearing different points of view here in CryptoVille especially as none of us has definitive proof on the existence of most of these things, one way or the other. And you stated your opinion nicely, which is much appreciated.

      I can understand why you feel the way you do about these creatures, and the silly programs that sometimes appear to “hunt” them. I guess we all just love a mystery so we watch or listen to these things, and wonder about them, and explore the possibilities as far as we can.

      I’m more optimistic about the future of mankind, though. I think we’ll get it sorted eventually. The process to get to that point is certainly painful, though! Ugh!

      Thank you for visiting CryptoVille! … Susan (CryptoVille)

  9. Entertaining as it is, I wish there was a bit of professionalism and better back ground to the animals they attempted to catch. However some day I am hoping that one of these creatures is found

  10. My honest opinion is that when proof has been given without proper scientific results.
    As i just saw another program doing again the search for Yeti but now in Buthan, the result was again nothing found which gives a real result of proof that a yeti exists.
    I admit if it was my tv i had switched away from it, but these people was hoping it to show proof that in this barren region this “creature ” exists.
    And again some proof shows up that does say again nothing worth looking at without proof that it is not faked. This constant hyping this makes that the story keeps alive.
    Again if it exists would we not expect that with all the spy sats with lenses that can zoom into a small coin and show it if its 50 metres wide, we would not be able to see such beast travel on the globe.
    These sats are everywhere tracking every movement on the planet,
    I learned from a few specialistx that when you read a paper in a park they can read that from space now., but when i asked about this subject they laughed and said if such a large animal would exist don’t you think we would not have seen it already.
    Especially because there are so many stories of sights of these creatures would non of these devices which are very capable missed such things. Ofcourse i ask myself can you make a mistake and see a bear for a bigfoot well if the stories are true then yes because bears do not walk as humans. So they should have been able to see it was their answer. So either these guys lie or they actually never seen anything ever.
    Ofcourse they keep things secret they never tell what they are looking at nor do they explain what they are looking for. I tried ask about this because i want to know how far this goes and what they can do.
    But these guys are so darn tided lipped that its impossible to get straight answers, especially if you start asking explicit questions. Which often ends in we have signed NDA contracts …. and silence
    But that laughing about this subject does imply that their asnwer is its pure fantasy.
    Anyway i hope one day we really get proof either way, but it becomes bleaker every year

    • Hi Bronen! I know what you mean about those TV shows – it seems they keep rehashing the same stuff over and over at times. They don’t come up with much evidence to prove anything. As for the Yeti, in my mind the mystery has been solved. I think they were from a remnant tribe of Denisovans that died out long ago, but who nonetheless co-existed with the homo sapiens in the area which is why their fear of the Denisovans (big and hairy) became the Yeti legend.

      As for Bigfoot, I still believe they exist, I don’t care what the spy satellites say. I find it extremely hard to believe these operators are going to waste their time looking for an unclassified bipedal ape that likes to hide out in remote areas of North America. They can laugh all they want, these creatures know how to stay out of sight.

      But only time will tell. I still enjoy the search and am always hoping for some new, definitive information. There are some really good researchers out there looking for proof, and I think they will one day be successful.

      Thank you for visiting CryptoVille! … Susan

      • These things are used for many tasks ofcourse not for findng proof of criptids, i never ever heard any talks about that. But sometimes these devices are used to look at certain situations. I do not exclude anything either history has proven many fails about extinct species that suddenly popup being life creatures.
        Again as before i know the oceans will reveil the most wonderfull and exotic creatures.
        Especially in the great depths because even now we are not able to stay for longer time periods, in these depths with humanoids because of the short supply of air and with machines because the power of the devices burn too fast ( moslty battery powered )
        But some of the operators ( out of curiosity ) look also at the extra info they receive and this far it never has reveiled anything weird. Again they do their jobs well and will not start to look with these super expenssive devices to nice looking people on the beaches either. If it happens then that is collateral damage ( their words )
        But will never happen on purpose anyway it would rock the world if a real good clear movie would pop up from a real encounter one day, but till this happen it will for me stay in the fantasy and hoax segment of knowledge.
        When people provide clear evidence of these creatures perferred alive and well in their own habitat.
        Yesterday there was another article about the woman who had found a roadkill animal which looked like a chupacabra from the stories. However it turned out to be a crossbread between mexican wolf and coyote, and no it feeded on normal prey not on blood. It simply lacked the or organs to feed on blood.
        Still the persons in question keep insisting that the animal is something else, while it actually is clear its not.
        To digest blood the organs needs a transformation to digest blood, nothing was found on the animal that it was Able todo so. true the animal looks absolute weird because for some reason the hair where missing.
        But if we look at the nakes hounds we do see exacr the same type of animal body type and often deformations.
        Its been bread with incompatible other dog like animals, thats also why they often called the most ugly dogs on the planet. Nowadays it has become a sport to do just that.

        Anyway till that day comes that i see real life proof of such animals my view will not change on this matter, but i guess it will not happen in my lifetime.

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