Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
When Nikita Compton came across a small pack of four animals during an outdoors trip on Monday, she thought she was looking at a group of coyotes.
But in the days since, thousands of eagle-eyed watchers have put what she saw up for interpretation.
“Everyone is saying about the four of them that they have a different look, like a hybrid or coywolf or whatever. But, yeah, it’s hard to say,” Compton told CBC News Wednesday.
She believes the animals could be eastern coyotes, a hybrid animal with both coyote and wolf DNA.
“We have coyotes, we know that there have been wolves tested here … There’s people arguing on my post that they’re just common housedogs. There’s people arguing that it’s AI, because they can’t believe that there’s four coyotes, or four hybrids, you know, that are looking right at me.”
Compton saw the animals in the area around Goose Arm — a moose protection area between Deer Lake and Corner Brook. She posted the sighting on Facebook, and her posts have garnered more than 1,000 combined shares.
She’s been working with the province’s Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands by providing the exact location of the sighting. The hope is that officials can obtain samples to determine their make-up.
WATCH | See the animals Compton came across on Monday:
What is it? Potential coyote-wolf hybrid spotted in western Newfoundland
Nikita Compton was out on the land in Goose Arm, between Deer Lake and Corner Brook, N.L., on Monday when she came across a group of animals she believes could be a coyote, wolf or some kind of hybrid.
CBC News has asked the department for more information, but a spokesperson said it wouldn’t be available on Wednesday.
Video of the encounter shows two animals approaching Compton’s truck first, which she believes were the juveniles of the group.
“They were so curious. Like we stopped the vehicle immediately and they just continued up the road at us,” Compton said.
That’s when a third animal appeared, followed by a fourth. She believed these were the adults.
Compton said she stayed in her vehicle, often making small noises to keep the attention of the animals for an extra look.
She’s eager to see what the experts find, and is still taken aback by what she witnessed.
“It turned into just a really special, unique encounter,” she said.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.