Sea Wolf, myth or killer whale?

 

Wasgo or sea wolf

Sea-Wolf, is a creature believed in by the Tlingit and Haida peoples of British Columbia and Alaska .It is said to be  a sea-monster who was once a human being. The Sea-Wolf was said to bring  luck and wealth to anyone who sees it, or hears its  call.

It is described as a  long ,sea-going creature with a horned or crested  head.It has large  eyes and a mouth full of  sharp teeth, like a crocodile  .Some describe fins or flippers with a long powerful tail for swimming.

It is supposed to be represented on a totem pole which was purchased by the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The Field Museum restored the talking stick to the pole, where it now protrudes from the forehead of the lowest of two Wasgo (or Sea Wolf) figures. The myth associated with this pole is that of the Wasgo, who lived in the lake behind Skidegate village and had the ability to transform between the form of a Wolf and a Killer Whale. The pole shows the Wasgo in two states, with and without his Whale attributes.

So is the Wasgo simply a killer whale or something else? Descriptions sound more like a prehistoric beast ,a plesiosaur.Could it simply be a myth or another mysterious beast as yet unidentified?