White River Monster
Encyclopedia
The White River Monster is a legendary large creature reportedly first spotted off the banks of the White River
near Newport
in northeastern Arkansas
.
His believe the White river monster may have had an impact on the Civil War
. The river was used for transportation, and the monster was supposedly responsible for overturning a boat. Sightings of the monster began in 1915. On July 1 of that year, an owner of a plantation near the river saw the monster. He reported it having gray skin and "as wide as a car and three cars long." As the news spread construction of a rope net began, but ended due to lack of money and materials.
The White River Monster was sighted again in the summer of 1971. That year, eyewitnesses who encountered the creature described it as "the size of a boxcar" with a bone protruding from its forehead. "It looked as if the thing was peeling all over, but it was a smooth type of skin or flesh," said one, and it made strange noises that sounded like a combination of a "cow's moo and a horse's neigh." Other accounts of the White River Monster described three-toed tracks, 14 inches (35.6 cm) in length, on Towhead Island leading down to the river through a path of bent trees and crushed bushes.
Mistaken identity
According to scientists, the White River Monster is likely a case of mistaken identity. Cryptozoologist and biologist Roy P. Mackal has suggested that the creature is "a clear-cut instance of a known aquatic animal outside its normal habitat or range and therefore unidentified by the observers unfamiliar with the type." Mackal believes that the creature is in fact a large male elephant seal
that wandered up the Mississippi River
into White River. Measuring an average of 5000 pounds (2,268 kg) and 14 feet (4.3 m) in length, a male elephant seal shares many of the characteristics described by those who've encountered the "monster": gray skin, three-toed tracks, summer molting and a farm animal's call.
Mackal's hypothesis does not cover how an elephant seal might have come to be in the Mississippi, as the North Altantic
has no elephant seal population. Furthermore elephant seals live an average of only about fifteen years (though one could conceivably survive longer in an area free of predators) and the White River Monster sightings were reported over an excess of fifty years.
In fiction
White River (Arkansas)
The White River is a 722-mile long river that flows through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri.-Course:The source of the White River is in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest southeast of Fayetteville...
near Newport
Newport, Arkansas
Newport is a city in Jackson County, Arkansas, northeast of Little Rock, on the White River. In 1900, 2,866 people lived in Newport, Arkansas; in 1910, 3,557. The population was 7,811 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Jackson County....
in northeastern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
.
His believe the White river monster may have had an impact on the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The river was used for transportation, and the monster was supposedly responsible for overturning a boat. Sightings of the monster began in 1915. On July 1 of that year, an owner of a plantation near the river saw the monster. He reported it having gray skin and "as wide as a car and three cars long." As the news spread construction of a rope net began, but ended due to lack of money and materials.
The White River Monster was sighted again in the summer of 1971. That year, eyewitnesses who encountered the creature described it as "the size of a boxcar" with a bone protruding from its forehead. "It looked as if the thing was peeling all over, but it was a smooth type of skin or flesh," said one, and it made strange noises that sounded like a combination of a "cow's moo and a horse's neigh." Other accounts of the White River Monster described three-toed tracks, 14 inches (35.6 cm) in length, on Towhead Island leading down to the river through a path of bent trees and crushed bushes.
Mistaken identity
According to scientists, the White River Monster is likely a case of mistaken identity. Cryptozoologist and biologist Roy P. Mackal has suggested that the creature is "a clear-cut instance of a known aquatic animal outside its normal habitat or range and therefore unidentified by the observers unfamiliar with the type." Mackal believes that the creature is in fact a large male elephant seal
Elephant seal
Elephant seals are large, oceangoing seals in the genus Mirounga. There are two species: the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal . Both were hunted to the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th century, but numbers have since recovered...
that wandered up the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
into White River. Measuring an average of 5000 pounds (2,268 kg) and 14 feet (4.3 m) in length, a male elephant seal shares many of the characteristics described by those who've encountered the "monster": gray skin, three-toed tracks, summer molting and a farm animal's call.
Mackal's hypothesis does not cover how an elephant seal might have come to be in the Mississippi, as the North Altantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
has no elephant seal population. Furthermore elephant seals live an average of only about fifteen years (though one could conceivably survive longer in an area free of predators) and the White River Monster sightings were reported over an excess of fifty years.
In fiction
- The white river monster was featured in the 2009 Lost TapesLost TapesLost Tapes is an American horror/thriller docudrama television series that airs on Animal Planet. Produced by Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program presents fictional found footage depicting traumatic encounters with cryptozoological creatures , including the Chupacabra and Bigfoot, and even...
episode, "White River Monster".