Canadian Monsters - The Waheela

Soon I will be returning to my beloved adopted home up north. As I have been waiting with great anticipation to return, I have been boning up on my Canadian facts and folklore. I have always had a deep fascination with the various creatures of lore from all corners of the world. So I started doing some sketches of the indigenous monsters of Canada. I thought I would share of a few of them over the next few weekends as I may be a bit delayed with the next Lovecraft 101 post. I hope you enjoy.
First up is the strange tale of the Waheela and the Valley of Headless Men, check out the full story after the jump.

The Waheela is a mythical wolf-like creature from Northern legends. It has similarities to the Shunka Warakin and Amarok from other tribal folklore. Bearing some similarity to the prehistoric Amphicynoids (dire wolves) that once roamed the North American landscape.

It is said to be a giant bear-like wolf that roams the forests alone or in groups of two rather than in packs like true wolves. And like the Amarok of Inuit legend, was a useful tool in dissuading anyone from hunting alone at night.

But most interesting about this mythical creature is not what is said about it from cultures of long long ago, but from the mystery of the Nahanni Valley in the Northwest Territories in the early 20th century. This area also goes by the frightening name of The Valley of Headless Men, because of the numerous gold miners that were found dead and decapitated. Many of the area believe this to be the work of the Waheela.