By Rick Smith
Prologue
The Peak thanks the author for allowing it to be the first to break this story. We look forward to publishing additional information as scientists continue their archeological investigation.
Editor
Did the giant coyotes howl at the moon?
A timely visit to the Hohokam Indian ruins north of Carefree has earned Arizona museum director recognition for producing evidence of a legendary giant coyote, weighing an estimated 1,000 pounds.
“We were in the right place at the right time,” said Dr. Allen Lorely, Director of the Southwest Natural History Museum in Wickenburg, who is being credited with the find.
Lorely led a study group to the Hohokam ruins in September 2009. Approaching the summit, they witnessed a large nearby rock formation crumble and fall from erosion. Exploring around the exposed area, they discovered three fossilized footprints, part of an animal skull, and a small inscribed tableau.
“The commotion of the falling rocks is what caught our attention,” Lorely said. “Everything was revealed by the falling rocks.”
All items were sent to the North American Institute for Mammal Study (NAIMS) in Montreal, Canada, for analysis. When contacted, NAIMS Director Jacque Debeau confirmed Lorley’s discovery.
“Dr. Lorely’s find and our test results will be featured in this month’s Scientific Journal-Review Digest,” Dubeau said.
The Scientific Journal-Review Digest is a science industry magazine published three times yearly featuring stories of significant scientific achievement. Debeau said Lorely’s story is titled “Coyoman – the Legend Lives.”
“Many Western Indian tribes believed in the legend of a giant coyote – the Coyoman,” stated Debeau. “It’s really where the concept of a “werewolf” first originated. The Coyoman was said to be able to walk upright. When it did so, it appeared human-like. Thus the name Coyoman.”
NAIMS’s tests included both DNA and carbon dating.
“This was a coyote,” Boreman said. “a huge coyote. The fossilized footprints confirm it was a digitigrade – that walked only on its toes – like coyotes do.” Although 10 times larger, the fossilized footprints are identical to today’s coyote prints.
Discovery of coyote track led to discover.
DNA confirmation came from a six-inch-long tooth from the partial skull. Combined evidence suggests that the creature would have weighed 1,000 pounds. On its hind legs, it would have stood 14 feet tall.
Despite the physical evidence, researchers are divided on how to explain the existence of a giant coyote, Lorely admitted.
“Some suggest that what we discovered was a mutant,” he said. “a regular coyote that morphed.”
Another explanation theorizes that herds of giant coyotes once roamed the West – like buffalo, only long before. NAIMS’s carbon dating estimates the creature’s skull to be 4,500 years old.
The most intriguing explanation is tied to a sacred Indian ceremony.
“The inscribed tableau has been roughly translated and suggests that 50 people chanted together at sunset to call forth the Coyoman from the spirit world,” Lorely said. He also announced that he will test the ceremony theory.
“I’m looking for volunteers to participate. The chant is a tongue twister and needs to be pronounced both forward and backward. Those interested should practice the following chant and contact me in Wickenburg.”
LOOFLIRPA!….LOOFLIRPA!….LOOFLIPA!
Editor’s note. This story was awarded 1st place in The Peak’s 2004 Write Stuff Contest.
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