The Ancient Greeks also lived through a plague, and they too blamed their leaders for their suffering


Joel Christensen, Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University
Wed, February 16, 2022

A painting by Nicolas Poussin titled 'The Athenian Plague' shows people dying of the plague. Bettmann / Contributor via Getty Images

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a scholar of ancient Greek literature, I have returned again and again to the Greek historian Thucydides to try understand the historical parallels to the American response to the health crisis.

Thucydides – a onetime general and historian of the Peloponnesian War, a generationlong struggle between Athens and Sparta – presents one of the most famous accounts of a plague from antiquity.

Then, as now, the story forms the backdrop for tragedy and conflict as Thucydides focuses on the emotional impact of living through a plague.

Parallels with plague

At the beginning of its conflict with its historical adversary, Sparta, Athens pulled its people and forces within the long walls that protected the central city’s access to the sea. With Athens’ maritime and economic supremacy, its leader Pericles believed that with such a strategy, the city-state would be impossible to conquer.

An unintended consequence of this strategy, however, was that the crowded confines of the city made it a fertile ground for a novel pathogen. The emergence of plague led to a temporary suspension of Athenian life, but it did not change the policy on the war or its strategy, despite the death toll.

Thucydides’ account records vividly the onset and progress of the disease as it fell on Athens. Some of what he wrote might sound familiar today: The symptoms of what was then an unidentified disease included chest pain, a cough, fever and diarrhea; if the disease was not fatal, it often left scars and a loss of memory.

Just as the spread of COVID-19 across the world led to a heightened focus on its origins, Thucydides tracked how the plague allegedly moved from Egypt through the Persian Empire and into Greece.

Thucydides also noted another fallout – despair. He described despair as the “most terrible feature of the sickness” and recorded that depression and fear were common. Like today, families lost their loved ones to the disease, and any kind of social order dissipated.

The despair of disease

I have also been deeply affected by Thucydides’ ability to talk about the plague from his own experience. As he notes at the beginning of his narrative of the disease, he became sick himself and watched others suffer.

Few people I know made it through 2020 and 2021 without anxiety about their own or their loved ones’ health. But the despair of actually contracting the disease and the feeling of utter powerlessness of watching one’s family getting it as well was something I personally evaded until January 2022.

Even though my spouse, my two older children and I were all vaccinated, we all contracted the virus. Our “mild” COVID experience left me winded going up stairs for weeks. And over a month later there is no one who can say what the long-term effects will be for us or our children.

Thucydides describes not just the despair of getting sick but the danger faced in “caring for one another.” My wife and I considered ourselves lucky that our fevers peaked at different times, leaving one of us to comfort our 9-month-old through four days of fever and a worrisome cough.

People dressed in coats holding burning candles for a memorial.

While we were sick, an average of 3,000 people died a day in the United States. Local and federal officials in many areas have pushed for a return to normal by planning to drop mask mandates and other restrictions. Experts have cautioned about the risk of new variants emerging as a large number of people in low-income countries remain unvaccinated.

Plague and leadership

The stories we tell and don’t tell about COVID-19 follow a pattern familiar to those who have spent time with ancient literature. Greek plague narratives take little interest in the nameless suffering masses and instead focus on the leaders who allow it to happen.

In Homer’s “Iliad,” the Greeks suffer a plague because their leader Agamemnon refuses the divinely sanctioned custom of accepting a ransom in exchange for a prisoner; the plague is sent as a punishment. Sophocles’ famous tragedy puts an Oedipus on stage. He wants to save his people but can’t see that he is the main cause for the spread of the disease.

Faulty public policies in the U.S., the U.K., Brazil and elsewhere have led to a large number of deaths that many experts considered preventable. The virus is only the beginning of the problem.

Plague stories provide settings in which fate pushes human organization to the limit. Leaders almost always play a pivotal role, as Zeus observes in Homer’s “Odyssey,” saying, “Humans are always blaming the gods for their suffering / but they experience pain beyond their fate because of their own recklessness.”
Leading for the public good

The Athenians lost the war with Sparta not because of the plague, but the plague did reveal the fault lines beneath the surface of Athenian culture. As Katherine Kelaidis, a scholar at the National Hellenic Museum, frames it, the disease was a moral test of the physical and political structures of Athens.

The Athenians lost tens of thousands of their citizens and soldiers and uncounted numbers of enslaved peoples and resident aliens, but they continued to fight for another 20 years. In the end, political factions and civil strife undermined their efforts to defend their state.

Two young scientists wearing protective masks and caps working on their computers that have an image of the coronavirus.

COVID-19 has shown the deep divisions among Americans, the lack of concern many of our neighbors show for one another, the fragility of the public health system and the limits of the leadership to meet collective challenges. But it has also shown the remarkable speed and creativity of scientists and the benefits of collaboration across international boundaries in helping us meet the unexpected.

Ancient Greek history and literature can help us understand the long-term social impacts of disease. They also show how fractious politics can undermine even heroic responses to public health challenges.


This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Joel Christensen, Brandeis University.

Read more:

Ancient Greek wisdom for today’s leadership crisis

An ancient Greek approach to risk and the lessons it can offer the modern world

Joel Christensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Not Even $200 a Barrel: Shale Giants Swear They Won't Drill More


Kevin Crowley and David Wethe
Thu, February 17, 2022

(Bloomberg) -- The Texas wildcatters that ushered in America’s shale revolution are resisting the temptation to pump more oil as the market rallies, signaling higher gasoline prices for consumers already battered by the worst inflation in a generation.

Crude prices hurtling toward $100 a barrel typically would spark a frenzy of new drilling by independent explorers in shale fields from the desert Southwest to the Upper Great Plains -- but not this year. Influential players like Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Devon Energy Corp. and Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources Inc. just pledged to limit 2022 production increases to no more than 5%, a fraction of the 20% or higher annual growth rates meted out in the pre-pandemic era.

The timing couldn’t be worse for consumers. Outside of OPEC, which has rejected U.S. President Joe Biden’s pleas to accelerate production increases, domestic shale fields are the only other source of crude that can quickly respond to supply shortfalls. Together with fast-rising global consumption, American drillers’ conservatism is likely to keep oil prices elevated for some time to come.

“Whether it’s $150 oil, $200 oil, or $100 oil, we’re not going to change our growth plans,’’ Pioneer Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield said during a Bloomberg Television interview. “If the president wants us to grow, I just don’t think the industry can grow anyway.’’

To be sure, U.S. oil output will rise substantially this year and is forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023. But it probably won’t be enough to knock oil prices off their upward trajectory any time soon.

Publicly-listed independent explorers like Pioneer and Devon account for more than half of the roughly 10.5 million barrels that America produces daily from fields in the contiguous 48 states, according to IHS Markit Ltd. The rest comes from closely held outfits, family-run enterprises and the international supermajors, all of which are aggressively boosting output.

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., for example, are targeting 25% and 10% shale growth, respectively, this year. At the same time, closely-held entities bankrolled by private-equity firms and family funds now control the majority of the country’s active drilling rigs. Going into this week’s quarterly earnings season, investors were apprehensive that the independents would evince signs of weakening discipline. After all, the benchmark North American oil price has surged 22% this year, at one point approaching $96 a barrel. That’s more than double the price needed to earn a healthy profit in places like the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. Retail gasoline at U.S. filling stations, meanwhile, is already higher than it’s been since 2014, an ominous sign in a market that closely tracks fluctuations in crude markets.

“Whether it’s $150 oil, $200 oil, or $100 oil, we’re not going to change our growth plans.” — Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield

But the message from shale country is loud and clear: the independents won’t repeat the mistakes of the past by flooding the world with cheap oil. Record cash flows will go right back to investors through dividends and buybacks, CEOs are saying. That means U.S. drillers are leaving a lot of crude in the ground. If they chose the other path — pouring windfall profits into new drilling — they easily could inflate domestic production by 2 million barrels a day, according to IHS Markit. Current forecasts are for the U.S. to add less than half that to global supplies this year.

“We've had enough head fakes that we’re going to be very thoughtful in ramping activity up," Rick Muncrief, CEO of Devon Energy Corp., said during a phone interview. "Let’s face it: we all are recovering in one way or another from this pandemic. We’re just slowly getting healthier and healthier over time, but you don’t get there overnight.”

Such comments are a world away from the free-wheeling “drill, baby, drill’’ heyday earlier this century when shale upended global oil markets with year after year of record-high production. Seasoned CEOs like Muncrief, Sheffield and Hamm have seen too many bust cycles to get carried away again.

The unprecedented oil-price crash of 2020 exposed an industry that burned through more than $200 billion over the previous decade to make America the world’s biggest crude producer, leaving little left for shareholders. Even after the rally in oil stocks over the past year, U.S. energy companies are just 3.6% of the S&P 500 Index, down from more than 12% a decade ago.

“The growth experiment failed,” said Jeff Wyll, a senior analyst at fund manager Neuberger Berman Group LLC, which has about $400 billion of assets under management. “We are in a new paradigm.”The U.S. will add between 750,000 and 1 million barrels of daily output this year, according to recent estimates from the Energy Information Administration, Rystad Energy AS, ESAI Energy LLC and Lium LLC. But that’s less than a third of the International Energy Agency’s forecast for global demand growth, meaning it won’t be enough to tame the oil rally.

“Whether it’s $150 oil, $200 oil, or $100 oil, we’re not going to change our growth plans.” — Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield

It’s down to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the only two OPEC countries with significant spare capacity, to fill any supply gaps, according to Pioneer’s Sheffield. Crucially, independent U.S. drillers are still extremely wary of elbowing in on too much of the market share controlled by OPEC and its allies, which waged two price wars with shale in the space of less than 10 years.

“U.S. shale has lost twice already in a head-to-head battle with OPEC,’’ said Devin McDermott, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. Independent producers are “focused on cleaning up balance sheets, lowering break even prices and returning cash back to investors -- not looking for growth.’’

Shortage of Suzuki car mirrors reflects Sri Lanka's growing economic crisis

Thu, February 17, 2022
By Devjyot Ghoshal and Uditha Jayasinghe

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Car spare parts dealers in Sri Lanka's main city of Colombo are receiving a steady stream of customers looking for what is fast becoming a prized commodity in the island nation - side mirrors for Suzuki's compact Wagon R.

The scramble for the humble product highlights rising economic risks for the South Asian country as imports slump, foreign exchange reserves plummet and a potential sovereign default looms.

Suzuki's boxy, five-seater vehicle is hugely popular in Sri Lanka, given its low running costs. With some 30,000 of the cars sold over the past four years in a nation that has relatively high road crash rates, replacement side mirrors are commonly sought in the spare parts shops scattered across the suburb of Nugegoda.

"Everyone is looking for Wagon R parts," said Supun Deshak, a salesman at one store in the district where shop fronts are piled high with reconditioned spare parts.

The difficulty is that importers are struggling to source car parts because they are deemed non-essential imports under rules drawn up by the government to save dwindling foreign exchange reserves after the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Reserves have plummeted to $2.36 billion from $7.5 billion in January 2020. At the same time, the government faces a debt obligation of around $4 billion this year, and local banks are often unable to provide dollars that importers need.

"The biggest concern right now is the difficulty in importing spare parts for maintaining the existing fleet of vehicles," said Yasendra Amerasinghe, chairman of the Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA), which represents the country's major vehicle importers.

The CMTA estimates imports of car spare parts will fall by around 30% in value terms this fiscal year, compared to pre-pandemic levels, primarily because of the foreign exchange shortages in the past few months.

Five auto dealers in Colombo told Reuters many spare parts were already in short supply, with only a trickle of new stock coming in from abroad, driving up local prices.

Exacerbating the problem are thieves looking to make a quick buck by stealing side mirrors of popular models like the Wagon R to sell in a thriving grey market, the dealers said.

The price of reconditioned Wagon R mirrors has surged by more than 35% from pre-pandemic levels to at least 30,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($148.5) per piece, the dealers said.

SECOND-HAND CAR PRICE SURGE

The economic crisis facing the country - its worst in a decade - has also triggered an escalation in second-hand vehicle prices.

Almost all car imports were banned in March 2020, followed by a stop on imports of other non-essential goods like airconditioners, refrigerators and video games consoles, as part of the government's bid to deal with the financial strife.

That has pushed the cost of some second-hand vehicles up by more than 100%, the CMTA said. Sri Lanka does not mass produce any cars locally.

A used Wagon R currently costs around 5 million rupees ($24,752), well above the 2.8 million rupees a brand new vehicle cost in 2018, said CMTA Vice Chairman Virann De Zoysa.

That's added further pressure on the spares market as many car owners look to cash in on the price jump but first try to spruce up their vehicle with replacement parts, said Musthaq Nazeer of Azka Auto Supply, a small shop packed with car mirrors and lights.

As global automotive supply chain disruptions add another layer to the problem, the CMTA said it has asked the government to classify car spare parts as an essential item, along with some food and medicine, to increase imports.

"Every distributor's out of many, many key parts," De Zoysa said. "We're turning away customers on a daily basis."

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal and Uditha Jayasinghe; editing by Jane Wardell)

California officials say 500-pound bear that broke into 38 homes must be killed

Bear League, an advocacy group, told the outlet that euthanizing the bear is unnecessary and cruel.

Asha C. Gilbert, USA TODAY
Thu, February 17, 2022, 

A search has started for a 500-pound bear in California after it broke into homes, but an advocacy group doesn't want the animal to be killed.

CBS 13 reports the bear has broken into 38 homes in South Lake Tahoe, resulting in more than 150 calls to police. And now the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says there is only one option to resolve the issue: Killing the bear.

Bear League, an advocacy group, told the outlet that euthanizing the bear is unnecessary and cruel.

“He’s always lived his life in that area,” Ann Bryant, executive director of the Bear League, told CBS 13. “We don’t want anybody to get hurt. Nobody wants that. We don’t want the bear to die either.”

As word spread about the plans to have the bear killed, some residents disagreed with Fish and Wildlife's stance and sided with the Bear League.

"They do not want the bear to pay the price for human ignorance. So when a bear is set to die in their community, people take a stand,” Bryant said.

Attempts to trap the bear have failed so far. The Bear League hopes to have the animal relocated to a sanctuary in Colorado.

"The Bear League reached out to the director of an excellent out-of-state wildlife sanctuary, who agreed he has room and would be very willing to give this bear a permanent home," Bryant told KCRA.

According to KCRA, the Department of Wildlife isn't sure that plan will work because black bears can't be imported into Colorado without permits and approval from the state's parks and wildlife agency.

Until the bear is captured, the department wants anyone who spots the animal to call law enforcement or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Revolutionary new solar panels don’t need sunlight to generate energy


Joshua Hawkins
Wed, February 16, 2022


The idea of solar panels that don’t need sunlight might sound crazy, but it’s not completely impossible. As a cornerstone of the revolution to bring more clean energy to people, solar panels have become one of the best options out there. However, these energy conductors have one fatal flaw. They require direct sunlight to create energy. What if we could remove that flaw, though? That was the idea behind AuREUS, a new solar panel that doesn’t rely on direct sunlight to generate energy.

These solar panels don’t need sunlight to generate electricity

But how do you make solar panels that don’t rely on sunlight? Well, you don’t. At least, not entirely. Instead, you make solar panels that can feed off the ultraviolet rays of the Sun that clouds don’t hinder.

Carvey Ehren Maigue is a student at Mapua University in the Philippines. To create the panels, Maigue used luminescent particles from fruit and vegetable waste. These are the same particles that absorb the Sun’s ultraviolet rays and turn them into visible light. By using particles like this, Maigue created a solar film capable of capturing ultraviolet rays. The film then converts the rays into visible light which is used to generate energy.

The idea is an ingenious one, and one that helps cut down on even more waste around the world. Additionally, because it doesn’t rely on direct sunlight, it can continue to generate power even when it’s cloudy outside. The current prototype is only a 3-by-2-foot panel installed in a window of Maigue’s apartment. It’s capable of generating enough electricity to charge two phones each day, though. When scaled up, Maigue says he believed it could enable buildings to completely run off their own electricity.

Expanding renewable energy

Part of what is really exciting about solar panels that don’t need sunlight, though, is the scalability. The film-like panel that Maigue created is flexible. It’s made of resin and could possibly even be applied to pieces of clothing. The idea was so good, in fact, it won the Sustainability Award from the James Dyson Foundation in 2020.

Because it is so flexible, the solar film leaves a lot of room for more innovators to step up and find new applications. Even the basic design that Maigue used could prove useful, as it would only require you to apply the film to your window to gather electricity. This means less worry about expensive solar panels being on your roof or having to install them some other way. We could even see it installed in cars, too, giving new means of energy creation to electric vehicles.

STATE CAPITALI$M AMERICAN STYLE
What is the US Government Doing With Billions of Pounds of Cheese?

Angela L. Pagán
Wed, February 16, 2022,

Photo: Anadolu Agency / Contributor (Getty Images)

Deep in the caves of Missouri the U.S. government has stored 1.4 billion pounds of cheese for decades, reports Deseret News. We’re not just talking cheddar here either, the cave has Swiss, American, and many others.

Funny that government and private agencies are sitting on a cheese mine in Missouri when over in New York City there’s a bagel and schmear crisis. This insane reserve of cheese was actually started because of a surplus with the intention of it being used for those in need. Back in the 1970s the U.S. government started buying up cheese to help out farmers, but then farmers actually started producing too much so the government had to figure out what to do with everything that was left.


The solution came in the form of government food assistance programs that would distribute millions of pounds of dairy products. However, that wasn’t enough to deplete the surplus so then big business got involved. A semi-public marketing board was formed and the government started making deals with fast food companies to sell the cheese and make some cheddar. This marketing board is actually responsible for the creation of the “Got Milk?” campaign that had celebrities sporting milk mustaches and the rest of us chugging back 2%.

What happened to all that government cheese?

Today, the underground of Missouri holds more than just government cheese. According to the website, “Springfield Underground contains 3.2 million square feet of leasable space free from exposure to the outdoor elements.” The website also explains that the former limestone mine maintains a constant temperature of 62 degrees and offers refrigerated buildings from negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit to 55 degrees. So, no need to worry about spoiled Swiss.

As grocery prices continue to rise and supply chain issues run rampant, you’d think the U.S. government would put a pause on its cheese stockpiling, but apparently not. As recently as August of 2020, the Department of Agriculture announced the Cheese Purchase Program. The program is meant to “purchase Mozzarella, Process and Natural American Cheddar Cheese for the National School Lunch Program and other Federal food nutrition assistance programs.” Though the announcement came in 2020, the actual cheese deliveries were intended for the entire year of 2021.

Now that I think about it, a government conspiracy makes a lot more sense to me than celebrities genuinely just wanting people to drink more milk.

Tracks of elusive endangered animal found in Yosemite National Park. ‘Rare treat’

Maddie Capron
Thu, February 17, 2022

An elusive endangered animal wanders Yosemite National Park — but it’s rarely seen.

A critter the size of a cat with a long, bushy tail, short legs and feet that can turn nearly backwards left behind footprints for researchers to track down, Yosemite park rangers said.

Fishers roam Yosemite, but they’re almost never seen. But researchers recently found fisher tracks in the snow while collecting data.

“Sometimes, tracks are the only way to ‘see’ a fisher; they are usually silent, elusive mammals, and a sighting is a rare treat for most people,” park rangers said Feb. 15 on Facebook. “When snow records the impressions made by wildlife tracks, it is like a time-lapse photograph.”

The tracks show researchers how the fisher traveled through the snow. The animal used its typical “loping gate” to get across.

Fisher tracks were spotted in Yosemite National Park.

“It starts by thrusting its front feet forward with the spring action of its spine, then brings its back feet forward to replace the front feet as it begins another bound,” rangers said.

The fisher also leaves behind a scent that humans couldn’t notice. The critter has tiny scent glands on the bottom of its paw pads that are used for mating.

Yosemite researchers have been actively looking for fishers to collect data. The team wants to better understand the population.

Since 2014, up to half of habitat that’s suitable living space for fishers has been destroyed by wildfires. The animal often finds shelter in hollowed-out trees to make their dens, according to the National Park Service.

A fisher is about the size of a house cat, according to the National Park Service

Prolonged drought and beetle infestations have also harmed fisher habitat.

“By identifying suitable fisher habitat, we can better manage and protect these areas, so fishers will always have a home in Yosemite,” park rangers said.

Cameras spot a rare, weasel-like animal called a fisher roaming Yosemite National Park

Endangered fisher seen running from Creek Fire before Shaver Lake property burns

Should logging halt over endangered California animal? Here’s what appeals court says

Bird of Prey Spotted in U.S. For the First Time, Drawing Crowds to Texas

Meghan Overdeep
Thu, February 17, 2022

Bat falcon

©Juan Carlos Vindas/Getty Images

A small bird of prey native to Mexico and Central America is making headlines after its apparent decision to spend the winter in Texas.

The now-famous bat falcon was spotted for the first time at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Alamo around Thanksgiving. According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), this is the first recorded time that a bat falcon has ever been seen in the U.S.

Based on the bird's "buff-cinnamon throat and crest bars," officials determined that it was a juvenile, while "the thickness of the tarsus and beak" indicate that it's a male.

Peter Witt told KSAT that he and his wife visited the refuge on the Mexico border specifically to see the bird.

"We could see him fly off from a tree shag perch, skim the lake, grab an insect and return to chow down, then rest a bit and repeat. We watched him for about 20 minutes... a wonderful and unique experience," he told the local news station.

USFWS shared Witt's photos of the bird on its Facebook page this week.

Joe Barnett, USFWS deputy refuge manager for the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, told Border Report that about 4,000 birders have come to the refuge since the bat falcon was first spotted.

"Somebody even came from Europe, so it's drawing a lot of attention. People coming just to see this bird," Barnett said. "It's always awesome to see something you're not expecting to see."

Builders find 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery in Gaza



Thu, February 17, 2022
By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - A 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery containing at least 20 ornately decorated graves has been uncovered near the shoreline in the northern Gaza Strip, with the antiquities ministry calling it the most important local discovery of the past decade.

Gaza is rich with antiquities having been an important trading spot for many civilisations, from as far back as the ancient Egyptians and the Philistines depicted in the Bible, through the Roman empire and the crusades.

Ruins discovered there include the remains of a siege by Alexander the Great as well as a Mongol invasion.

Twenty Roman graves have been located so far and the team expect to unearth 80 in total within the 50-square-meter cemetery. Only two graves have been opened, one contained skeletal remains and some clay jars.

Because of the shape of the graves and the relatively ornate decorations, they likely belonged to "senior ranking people" in the Roman empire during the first century, said Jamal Abu Rida, director-general of Gaza's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Unlike Muslim graves from later periods that face north to south, the Roman graves lie east to west, he said.

"We have made several discoveries in the past, this is the most important archaeological discovery in the past 10 years," said Abu Rida.

The area is closed off to journalists and the public while the site is organised and made safe for visitors, the ministry said.

The site, which is being supervised by a French team of experts, was found by a construction crew working on an Egyptian-funded housing project. When they came upon some of the cemetery's large, ancient bricks, they stopped work and called in the archaeologists.

Gaza is run by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has fought four wars with Israel since 2008.

The conflict has crippled the local economy and authorities usually engage international groups to help excavate and preserve archaeological findings, said Abu Rida.

(Writing by Nidal Almughrabi; Editing by Alison Williams)

NOT A CHUBACABRA

DNA Test Finally Reveals What Emaciated 'Mystery Animal' Is After It Was Rescued Last Month


unidentified animal

Dan Heching
Wed, February 16, 2022, 

An animal rehabilitation center in western Pennsylvania has released the findings of a DNA test for a rescued critter brought in to the center last month.

"The results are in!" the agency wrote on its Facebook page on Monday. "Our 'mystery animal' DNA sample came back, 100% coyote!"

The Youngwood-based organization began treating the then-unidentified creature on Jan. 17, after a woman in Fairfield Township found paw prints outside her home that led her to an emaciated, freezing animal.

At first, the woman kept the animal in her basement until TJ's Rescue Hideaway, a local foster-based rescue, could transport it to Wildlife Works.

RELATED: Rescue Awaits DNA Results to Help Identify Emaciated Animal Under Their Care: 'Dog or Coyote?'

No one at Wildlife Works, a wildlife rehab, could identify the animal species with certainty because of the creature's poor health and physical appearance.

The staff then took samples from the animal for DNA testing to determine what species is under their care, the results of which were revealed this week.

"What do you think I am, dog or coyote?" Wildlife Works wrote with a photo of the animal on Facebook in January. "This pup was admitted to us last night. Suspect it has mange and we will be treating it accordingly. We also will be doing testing to confirm what it is!"

Morgan Barron of Wildlife Works told WPXI at the time that the animal was "very timid, very scared and not aggressive" and that this behavior led her to believe the creature was a dog.

"I honestly can't definitively say what it is, but to err on the side of caution, since they can carry rabies and since it might be a coyote ... [we will] get genetic testing done and go from there," Barron added.

In another update since finding the animal, the rehab center shared the animal's progress while awaiting test results. "We are overwhelmed and thankful for all the love and support this guy is getting! Thank you to everyone that has donated and shared his story," the facility wrote on Jan. 24.

"We did not expect his story to get as big as it did, but we are thankful for the awareness it has given to wildlife rehabilitation. With that being said, we are still waiting for the results of the DNA sample to come in," Wildlife Works added. "He is doing much better now and is much more alert than when he came to us last week. He is still not showing extreme signs of aggression but is more on the defensive side."

However, before the center got the DNA results back to identify the coyote, it escaped. It has not been located.