Jul 22, 20223 min read

The Amarillo Object - Werewolf Caught on Camera?

Updated: Jul 25, 2022

One hour after midnight on 21 May 2022, security cameras at the Amarillo Zoo caught something unexplainable (sort of). What appears to be a wolf-headed humanoid can be seen stalking around near the perimeter fence of the zoo. The zoo has named it a UAO (Unidentified Amarillo Object).

Let's take a look at the evidence:

The Unidentified Amarillo Object appears to show an upright canine humanoid werewolf type creature caught on camera — Caught grey handed

At first glance, one has no problem finding the unidentifiable element in the picture. What appears to be a canine head with long pointed ears sits atop fur-covered shoulders and arms. Long furry arms appear to end in claws. The chest area also appears to be fur bound, and the legs seem to be firmly squeezed into a pair of sleek pants. One hand appears to be clutching a rolled-up magazine, or could that be a tail?

Here's some help:

Red circle around the unidentified Amarillo object — Circles are hard

Of course, this latest piece of footage is blurry as hell. This follows in the tradition of anomalous creatures showing up blurry, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.

Bigfoot walks in the famous Patterson Gimlin footage, blurry sasquatch caught on camera — Where are my glasses?

Loch Ness monster famous picture — I'm literally a child's toy in a pond

Besides the blur, this looks like it could be a bit of a Dogman situation. At least, that's what some people are claiming. You haven't heard of Dogman? Well, in 1987 a Michigan radio DJ named Steve Cook recorded and released a song titled "The Legend". He did this as an April Fool's joke, but was soon inundated by callers looking to report their own experiences with the Dogman.

Basically, the Dogman is a human-sized bipedal canine creature. Dogman sightings have continued to pop up over the years and there's even a Subreddit dedicated to the subject r/dogman.

Other people claim that the Amarillo Object is actually a coyote standing on its hind legs. This is something that coyotes are capable of, but the proportions seem a little off for the Amarillo Object to be a curious coyote. What gets me is the lack of pants on most coyotes.

Coyote standing on hind legs in bipedal position, captured on trailcam — The resemblance is uncanny

Some have put forth the Furry theory. They believe that there was a Furry convention in the desert and one of the attendees must have got lost. The biggest problem with this theory is that most fursuits are much bulkier than the slender stalker in the picture. Perhaps it was a Furry that simply lost the lower half of its suit while tripping in the wilderness. What is a Furry, I hear you ask? I have the answer queued up:

Atlantic Furs — Furries are adults who dress up in fursuits and pretend to be animals

I'm not sold on the Furry theory. While it is plausible that a Furry went rogue and snuck around the Amarillo Zoo, trying to sniff up the "real" animals, I find the proportions to be all wrong. Also, like coyotes, Furries rarely wear pants.

Photo of Native American shaman in ritualistic style dress potentially a skinwalker — Is this a photo of a skinwalker? I don't know, Google says so

Next up, we have the people yelling about Skinwalkers. Well, the Skinwalker is a Navajo boogeyman with the power to transform into the form of various animals by wearing their skin. The skinwalker is reviled as an evil being, and even mentioning it is said to draw the monster's attention. Amarillo isn't that far from the Navajo Nation reservation, so they are in approximately the right area for the mythology to apply.

The skinwalker is a shaman who achieved the power of shapeshifting through the ritual murder of their own family. Yee Naaldlooshii (skinwalker in Navajo) are bad news, and I'm likely on their radar now.

What's my take?

If we take the camera into account, a few things become obvious. First, we note that this was not actually taken by a security camera. Those usually take video, but this is a still image. This was taken by a Spypoint Link Micro LTE camera, which transmits photos to a receiver wirelessly and instantly. This type of camera would take several pictures whenever it is triggered, and it is motion-activated. That means there would have to be more pictures of this thing that the zoo has chosen not to share. Suspicious.

Secondly, if this is really what the zoo is using as their security camera, it is set up at a weird angle. The zoo is quite large, and this is pointing at a small section of the perimeter fence. Placement of cameras for security purposes is usually done to capture the maximum area available. Strange.

Finally, the zoo is a privately owned wildlife center. This means that they operate on a profit-based model and would naturally seek publicity. Most towns that have their own local cryptid pop-up can make some profit off of the interest it generates. Point Pleasant has a Mothman festival, and Kelly Hopkinsville has the Kelly Little Green Men Days Festival. What I'm saying is this is a hoax to generate tourism to the area.