Once said to wander the tidal flats of Sisqualamie Bay, the dolphcuta was said to be a fearsome beast with the body of a common dolphin but the hooves of a moose. Depending on the local teller in McBain County, the dolphcuta was either the unnatural offspring of a moose in rut and a dolphin or the result of a dark pact the two had signed after being roasted alive by loggers during the lumber boom.

Either way, the dolphcuta is said to prowl the flats waiting for a traveler to flounder and become stuck in the mud. It will then pounce, kicking them to death with its hooded before dragging the carcass off to a secret boneyard to be consumed. A dolphcuta is blamed for the disappearance of a Fish and Wildlife inspector in 1903, and there are persistent claims that one such fearsome beast was captured and displayed at the state fair until officials from the Smithsonian descended to confiscate it.

In either case, the dolphcuta has become a cultural touchstone of McBain County, with an annual festival in its honor as well as a series of painted fiberglass replicas spread all over the county seat.

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