On this date in 1971, a mysterious, hopping, hairless creature was loose on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. Armed with a rake and a burlap sack, Morris Baker spotted and captured the creature on Halloween at his farm near Belcourt. Dubbed “Whatsit,” the unknown animal was taken to the jail in Belcourt in poor health, where he was vaccinated against rabies and nursed back to health.
Described as having “a head like a fox, unusually long legs like a large jackrabbit or kangaroo, and a long, slim tail like an opossum,” the mysterious creature caught the attention of researchers at NDSU-Bottineau, and Whatsit was transported there for study. Whatsit eventually made his way to Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, where his condition continued to improve. He even grew some hair.
While there, news of Whatsit spread far and wide, with reports about the animal appearing in the press throughout the United States and as far away as Costa Rica, where one correspondent suggested Whatsit should be kept with scorpions to keep him company, and Algeria, where a French-language newspaper dubbed Whatsit “the sitting one.”
Letters and calls from around the world flooded the Minot Daily News. Many suggested possible identities for Whatsit, including a rat-tail opossum; a kangaroo; a mutated raccoon; a jackeroo; a Tasmanian wolf; a Chinese Crested Dog; a fox-rabbit hybrid; a fox-wildcat hybrid; various other canine hybrids; a mutated fox with rickets or Meniere’s syndrome; or even a surviving member of the genus Miacis ancestral carnivores that went extinct some 40 million years ago.
However, those who guessed Whatsit was a fox were correct. Experts ultimately concluded that Whatsit was indeed a fox, about one year old, with seborrheic dermatitis, a condition that causes itching, rashes, and scaly or flaky skin.
Excitement about Whatsit eventually waned, and Baker reclaimed the fox from Roosevelt Park Zoo in early 1972 to keep him as a pet. Whatsit lived out the rest of his days on the Baker farm, passing away on July 4 of that year.
Dakota Datebook by Matt Ely
Sources:
- “The mail on Whatsit […],” Minot Daily News, December 18, 1971, p. 16
- “Mike Nilson, park superintendent,” Minot Daily News, December 11, 1971, p. 16
- “The North Dakota AP office […],” Minot Daily News, November 27, 1971, p. 14
- “‘What Am I?’ Is Indian Name For Strange Animal,” Minot Daily News, December 11, 1971, p. 15
- “Whatsit,” Pierce County Tribune, December 22, 1971, p. 11
- “The Whatsit brought into […],” Minot Daily News, November 20, 1971, p. 12
- “Whatsit is a fox,” Minot Daily News, January 22, 1972, p. 16
- “Whatsit is dead,” Minot Daily News, August 5, 1972, p. 10
- “Whatsit is getting a national reputation,” Minot Daily News, December 4, 1971, p. 14
- “‘Whatsit’ is member of the fox family,” Daily News (Wahpeton, ND), January 28, 1972, p. 3
