The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word COYOTE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
C
O
Y
O
T
E
More clues leading to the result COYOTE
- Canine mammal you spotted without tail entering animal shelter
- Ostler occasionally attending shy creature
- Wild dog old Yankee kept in small shelter
- Ostler regularly follows shy creature
- Shy, old Lawrence’s dog
- Demure love note for wild beast
- ‘Shy old Lawrence’ is actually kind of a wolf
- . . . . Charlie, old English biting, revolting toy dog
- Toy eaten up by Lord Wolf
- Reserved books on European wolf
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "creature" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case creature = coyote.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does COYOTE mean?
COYOTE noun- Canis latrans, a species of canine native to North America.
- A smuggler of undocumented immigrants across the land border from Latin America into the United States of America.
- To prospect for gold by manually digging holes into overlying earth, as into a hillside.