I have seen countless hyenas on Discovery, in National Geographic, and Wild Kingdom as a kid, and there is no other option than this strongly resembled a Spotted Hyena.
I received the following account:
"In the spring of 2010 while driving in the southern Adirondacks of New York, in the Adirondack Park, my wife and I saw what can only be described as a Hyena chasing several deer across the road. The animal literally stopped dead in front of the car staring back at us for 10 seconds before it moved off. I have been in the woods my whole life, raised with a gun since childhood, and spent my summers on Lake Champlain. I have hunted, fished, instructed archery and rifle range, hiked, coon hunted at night, owned horses, and ridden horseback through the wilderness, and presently live with all kinds of wildlife on my lakefront / creek-side property. Well, I thought I'd seen it all. But, I have no idea what this was, other than to say it was a hyena.
It was very large; 150-175 lbs, long bushy tail, brindle, wirey, spotted, brown, black, and gray coat, with a powerful predator build, thick lower jaw, rounded, diamond-shaped, triangular head with rounded ears sitting high on the head, and what appeared to be a mane running down the back originating on the neck. Its hind legs were noticeably shorter than the front and much thicker and more powerfully muscled than the front, so that the animal sloped down in the powerful rear. I have seen countless hyenas on Discovery, in National Geographic, and Wild Kingdom as a kid, and there is no other option than this strongly resembled a Spotted Hyena.
I immediately went home and searched for it. Amazingly, it is said the 'Mountain Hyena' once roamed the Adirondacks/Appalachians. Well, I have news, at least one still does. My wife and I, at the time, actually called New York EnCon at Raybrook when we got home and got laughed at, even receiving an errant email back ridiculing my report which was accidentally sent to me instead of an EnCon co-worker. This really made me mad as I had made friends with my local EnCon officer who liked to use my property to catch poachers. Although we do have an animal park at the end of the lake, when I called, they assured me they have never had any Spotted Hyenas.
It was only shortly after I saw the MonsterQuest episode describing a similar animal in Maine, while the Shunka Warak'in was well known to the Iroquois as the "Dog Killer," the supposed Shunka Warak'in famous mount seems far too small and pig-like to be what I saw. Its legs are far too scrawny and it seems far less canine than what we saw, also possessing a longer straight coat and thinner snout.
Then a few days later, we saw it again doing the same thing. There is no doubt, that this was not a Coyote, a Wolf hybrid, or a Coydog; this WAS a Hyena. My property has a creek, creek-mouth, and lakefront, with four fish spawns, plenty of deer, coyote, Red and Gray Fox, Fisher, Eagles, Turkeys, ducks, Blue Heron, owls, Osprey, geese, ducks, Turkey Vultures, and even the occasional Black Bear and this fall a yearling Moose, I've seen it all; especially riding horseback. You name it, I've seen it and can identify it, but have never seen anything like this. As close as I can come is the Spotted Hyena.
I have a very high IQ and have worked for two Emmy winners, but amazingly, this is the second "cryptid" animal I have seen in my life, when you do, you just never forget it, suddenly you realize the world is far more amazing than many ever know. Just imagine what is lurking out there untouched expanses of Canada and Alaska, where few, if any, have ever ventured." B
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