In Inuit folklore, the kÃÂk-whÃÂnâÂÂ-û-ghÃÂt kÃÂg-û-luâÂÂ-nÃÂk or akhâÂÂlut is an orca-like composite animal that takes the form of a wolf when on land, and is sometimes depicted as a wolf-orca hybrid.
In 1900, the American naturalist Edward William Nelson described the kÃÂk-whÃÂnâÂÂ-û-ghÃÂt kÃÂg-û-luâÂÂ-nÃÂk among a number of other mythical and composite animals:
Nelson attributed stories of the creature to the orca (akhâÂÂlut), and explained wolf tracks appearing to lead into the sea as the result of ice breaking away from the edge. He identifies other composite animals among Inuit folklore, including a white whale that can transform into a reindeer, and says that belief in the kÃÂk-whÃÂnâÂÂ-û-ghÃÂt kÃÂg-û-luâÂÂ-nÃÂk is prevalent among Inuit along the shore of the Bering Sea.
More recent collections of myths and folklore have used the term Nelson gives for the orca, akhâÂÂlut, to describe the composite animal.