What is an Amarok?

What is an Amarok? The Amarok is described as a giant wolf from the Arctic. It was believed to have come from barren lands and is said to hunt alone unlike other wolves who always travel in pack. What is an Amarok? Lots of people believe that the Amarok is a lone wolf, and that this legend came from the time when people don’t know a lot about animals from the woods. Back then, forests were filled with different kinds of wolves – also known as wolves. Some people also liken the Amarok to that of a Waheela which is also a giant wolf that inhabits the northern regions of Canada. In this article you’ll learn what is an Amarok?

The Amarok Monster

According to Dr. Hinrich Rink, a Danish geologist, the term Amarok is an interesting monster among the natives of Greenland. On the other side, those who live in the Arctic believed that the Amarok is a monster type of wolf that is way bigger than a human being.

Amarok is also part of the Inuit mythology. They also regard the Amarok as a huge monster wolf. And then there’s another wolf known as Amagug who is believed to play tricks on the gods. The Amarok and Amagug are different kinds of wolf but with somewhat similar features.  The monster Amarok was also believed to hunt humans and eat them especially when they travel at night in the forest. But compared with many wolves who hunt in packs, the Amarok prefers to hunt alone.

Folk Lore & Legends

Legend #1

Amarok came into existence thanks to a famous legend. The legend goes like this; there was a young boy who was hated by his fellow villagers because he was physically stunted. The boy wanted to improve his strength so he called out to the Lord of Strength, and what came out was a wolf. Amarok appeared in front of the boy and knocked him off by whipping his tail at him.  

The boy fell to the ground and crushed some bones in his body. Amarok told him that it is necessary because these bones are the main reason that is preventing his growth; and that the boy needs to go back to improve his strength. The boy did that, and after several sessions he gained strength. He was able to gain the favor of his fellow villagers because he defeated three large bears.

Legend #2

There’s another famous legend about Amarok; it tells that when this monster came when the caribou were getting weak from lack of food, and were becoming ill. Amarok starts hunting the weak and ill caribou so that the herd can become healthy again.

Legend #3

Another legend tells of a man’s story wherein he was mourning the death of a relative. He heard that an Amarok was close by and what he did was to seek it out into its lair. The man took another family member with him. Once they found the lair, they saw some pups and killed all of them.

After doing that, the relative became so scared, and they hid in a cave. From the entrance of the cave, the two men saw that the Amarok brought some food for its pups. When the amarok couldn’t find its pups, it ran to a lake nearby and began to pull something human-shaped up out of the water. At the same time, the man fell dead at his relative’s feet. It is believed that the amarok took the man’s soul from his body as “nothing remains concealed” from the amarok and no matter how far away the man hid or ran, it would extract revenge for the death of its pups.

Prehistoric Connections in Cryptozoology

Dr. Hinrich Rink in his book noted that the Greenlanders use the word “Amarok” in a positive way while other tribes living in the Arctic refer to Amarok as a monster wolf. The stories surrounding Amarok may sound like unreal but the dire wolf version can bring some truth based on historical basis and some grain of truth this cryptozoology figure. The Waheela may also likely be true because it came from the same animal species.

Dire Wolf

Dire wolves are predators from the Ice Age era. They were believed to have existed about a million years. Like the Pleistocene megafauna species, they died out during the end of the last Ice Age. It’s very possible that the ancestors passed on the stories of dire wolves as something similar to the Amarok.

Hyaenodon

This Ice Age predator, were known to be as early ancestors to modern hyenas. The largest of them is known as Hyaenodon giga. It has also been thought that perhaps the stories of Amarok could have come from the stories of this Hyaenodon creature.

Shunka Warakin

For those who follow cryptozoology, the Shunka Warakin means “carries off dogs.” And just like the Amarok, it is described as being a large wolf – like animal from Native American folk stories.

Waheela

Amarok is sometimes seen as being the same as a creature known as a Waheela. Stories of the Waheela are found in the Northwestern regions of Canada. They are also a wolf-like creature similar to the Amarok.