Black Panther Reports from the Lone Star State

Reports of anomalous black cats, large in size with long tails, continue to pour in to me via email, comments to posts, Twitter and Facebook. I need to catch all of you up on these reports and thought I would work backwards to do so. What I mean by that is that I will be presenting the latest reports to you first and, over the next several weeks, get you caught up on the backlog.

Before we begin, let me repeat a few things that I have said before. I know that there is no such animal as a “black panther.” The known big cats that have been given this moniker are either African leopards or New World jaguars exhibiting melanism. So, when I use the term “black panther,” realize it is a colloquialism, a catchall phrase, if you will, that is commonly used in Texas and the Deep South to describe any large, black or very dark, long-tailed cat.

Now, on to the reports



2/5/16

“I do realize this post was intended to debunk a lot of story of "black panthers," but I have to share something that happened to me, my boyfriend and my husky last night. We were at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in West Plano and it was dark out (bad idea) - about 7:30 pm. We were only on the trail about a quarter mile before we saw a LARGE black cat walking towards us, about 200 ft. ahead of us. It was about the size of a German shepherd and had this incredibly slow, sauntering walk. It didn't have a care in the world that we had seen it or that we were right in front of it. It halted for a moment when it first saw us, then slowly walked towards us. We could definitely make out what it was because the parking lot lights behind us were still nearby and illuminating the trail. We turned around after being frozen for a solid 10 seconds and I never ran so fast, probably a bad idea in retrospect to run. I know it doesn't make sense that a black panther/jaguar lives in Plano, but it could've possibly been someone's exotic pet that they released in the Preserve. I don't know, but I'm ABSOLUTELY positive of what we saw.”

- Anonymous

TCH Comment: An interesting account to be sure. I would be interested to hear how the husky reacted to the presence of the large cat. Surprisingly, the Plano area is a hotbed for sightings of large, black cats. The Arbor Hills Nature Preserve mentioned in this report is very close to other reported sightings. I would like to make clear that I am not trying to debunk reports of black panthers. I am simply following the evidence trail where it leads me. If anything, as time goes by, I am more and more convinced there is a legitimate mystery here regarding these cryptid cats that needs to be solved.

2/4/16

“This is the first time I have seen this sight. I live in Wills Point,Texas. (Van Zandt County). Was at home by my cabin on a small lake (4 1/2 acre lake) in late spring or early summer of 2012. Around 2:30 pm as I was fishing from the dock I saw from the corner of my eye what I thought, at first to be a large brown dog. It walked behind some tall grass at a slow but steady gate. I looked away for a second until it emerged from the grass. I turned to look at it and realized it was a large cat. At first I told myself, "That's a really big bobcat. But, no it was way too large and didn't have spots. It was medium to dark brown. It was unmistakable as a cougar. The long large tail that hung down and curled back up at the end and the round head with a short muzzle was enough to be certain. I had never seen a cougar that dark. And the time of day seemed unlikely. My landlord/friend has six young grand kids running around the lake. His and his son's houses are on the lake as well. So I made sure I told him. Even though I was afraid he would think my cheese had slipped off my cracker. I was cocerned for his grandkids. Turns out the cougar had been seen around his Son in laws & daughters house too. About three miles from the lake. The Van Zandt county sheriff department has 20 to 30 reports of livestock losses from big cats per month, according to our newspaper. I was surprised.”

- Johnny Marchand

TCH Comment: I find Johnny’s sighting very intriguing. He seems absolutely sure that the animal he saw was a cougar but stresses that it was an unusually dark brown. I feel strongly that at least some “black panther” reports can be attributed to sightings of cougars sporting unusually dark coats.

1/24/16

“I live about 45 minutes south of Brazos Bend. I've seen a large cat three times in the past couple of years crossing the road. It's not much larger than a bobcat, more lean and longer, with a very long tail. It appears black until the light shines on it and then I saw that it was actually spotted. I've also heard what sounds like a woman screaming at night.

We have a lot of wildlife in this area so I'm not sure if the numerous goat deaths are from that cat or coyotes. And I'm not sure if I've seen the same cat several times or if it was more than one cat. It looks like the photos I've seen of the jaguarundi.”

- Anonymous

TCH Comment: Brazos Bend State Park is located in SE Texas in Fort Bend County. Mainly, it is known for an abundant alligator population but it is a rich habitat that supports all manner of wildlife, including possible prey species for a large cat like white-tail deer, raccoons, otters, beavers, opossums, rabbits, etc. The witness mentions that the animal he saw looked like photos of jaguarundis he has seen online; however, his description does not seem to fit that species. His report of a lean and long cat fit the jaguarundi bill but the spotted coat and size reported (larger than a bobcat) do not. I’m not sure what this gentleman saw but I am pretty sure it was not a jaguarundi. Due to my doubts on this one, I will be leaving it off my black panther distribution map.

1/23/16

“4445 Rock Quarry drive. 1/16/16 15:50 gray coat, short tail with black tip, full beard, looked right at me, 30 yards. Right to left. Saw entire left side. Looked female. Very healthy looking.”

- Anonymous

TCH Comment: No cryptid cat here, this is a classic description of a bobcat. These wildcats are not an uncommon sight even in urban neighborhoods. Sounds like this bob was a very pretty and healthy specimen.

1/21/16

“I Live in Eustace,Tx. about 18 years ago I was walking from my sisters house next door to my house about 3 am and out if the corner of my eye say what I thought at first was a large house cat. Turned instinctively to look and realized is was bigger then a normal cat. And then the mom stepped off the grass onto the white rocked part of the road. She had been there the whole time and I never saw her till she got on the road. She was only about 10 feet away. I was scared to death I continued to walk sideways to my house, keeping my eyes on her and not turning my back to her. All she did was follow me. I assume just to make sure I was not a threat to what I now know was her cub. She was so gracful had I not been so scared I would have been in awe. I Contacted everyone I could and finally found a tracker. He said she was a black jaguar,and had been interbreed because her first two claws did not retract and she had a cub. There was also a mountain lion that had made a den about 150 ft from my back door. Our area is heavily wooded. We spot her or her cub just for a secound every few years. only heard one once last year for a few seconds and have never seen the mountain lion yet. They said she travels about a twenty mile radius and when food depleted she goes to the next area and returns every few years. She only takes down small animals, chickens, turkeys,goats and maybe cats. Small price to pay for such a beautiful creature. In my opinion.”

- Kristi ********


TCH Comment: Eustace sits in Henderson County roughly 40-50 miles SE of Dallas. Cedar Creek Reservoir and Purtis Creek State Park are in the immediate vicinity as are numerous private lakes and stock ponds which provide plenty of water for a number of wildlife species. The county is rural and there is plenty of room for a predator of the size described to live and thrive. This account is interesting as a cub was involved. Kristi never mentions the color of either cat directly but does say a “tracker” felt she had seen a black jaguar. Based on that statement, I am going to assume the animal was very large and black. The rest of this “tracker’s” statement about the big cat having been some kind of hybrid between a jaguar and a cougar is nonsense, in my opinion. The basis of this theory being based on claw marks being found in a print is false logic. It is true that cats can and do have retractable claws but they do leave claw marks in tracks from time to time. While I find the tracker’s comments less than credible, I have no reason to doubt Kristi’s sighting report.

12/2/15

“About 5 years ago, maybe 2010-11, saw medium size black cat that looked like small panther run up from the east Bosque riverback. The cat was chasing a bird that was flying just few feet above the ground. The cat ran across my lane of traffic on Lakeshore Dr.(Waco,TX). The cat was a very dark black color, about 2.5' to 3' long, guess about 25 to 35 lbs, long black tail. The cat's head was rounded shape about size of typical cantaloupe. Later saw picture of a jaguarundi cat on internet, the cat looked like that species.”

- Anonymous

TCH Comment: The description of the witness sounds a lot like a large domestic cat to me except for the estimate of the cat weighing 25-36 lbs. If he is accurate in that estimate, this was no feral/domestic. A jaguarundi certainly needs to be considered as a suspect here. The area described is on the E-NE side of Waco and gets rural and wild pretty quickly. There is a lot of brush, wooded areas, green belts and water sources along the Brazos River, Bosque River and Lake Waco shoreline. Certainly, there is enough suitable habitat to support a cat the size of a jaguarundi.

11/24/15

“I moved out by Churchill bridge in Brazoria, by the San Bernard River, I was looking out my kitchen window and saw a Black Cat, I was thinking, Wow he is Big, then it turned and started slowing walking and I saw how big, and a long tail, really cool looking too, He moved so slow like a wild cat would, I could not get my camera fast enough to snap a photo, Also saw a big bobcat on this property, My Dad working for the Refuge here and said he has heard of the Jaguar siting.”

- Dianne Harwood

TCH Comment: If there is ever an area where a cat the size of a jaguar could survive it is likely in the area of this sighting. Brazoria sits in Brazoria County and the spot of this visual is sandwiched between the Brazos River to the north, the San Bernard River to the south and the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge and the Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area to the east. The area has ample water and potential prey species, including the endangered Attwater’s prairie chicken, a type of ground-dwelling grouse. Rumors of large, black cats, like the one described by Dianne, are common in SE Texas.

10/18/15

“I can tell you for sure there are large cats roaming all parts of Texas. In fact I saw a Black Panther about 7 years ago right out side of Alto, Texas. It was about 10:30 pm on a very dark night. I was driving out of Alto about 3 miles on hwy 21 headed East. As a large truck passed me I turned on my high beams. Less than a foot off of the road on my side it looked like two large black garbage bags. When I spotted it I was about 150 yards away. That cat didn't move accept for it's head turned towards me. I saw it's yellow eyes and I was totally shocked. We have owned property in that area for 25+ years. I have seen small cats every once in a while. If you go to the feed stores in the area the ranchers will tell you they see cats all the time. That night I saw the Black Panther I called Texas Parks and Wild Life and reported it. I was told these large black cats are reported every once in a while.”

- Anonymous

TCH Comment: Alto is a small town in Cherokee County in east Texas. The Davy Crockett, Angelina and Sabine National Forests are all nearby as are numerous wildlife management areas. While Alto does not sit directly in any of these forests, it is in the heart of the Piney Woods region of Texas. The entire area is heavily wooded and rural. Tales of screaming black panthers from this area go back decades and locals will tell you in no uncertain terms that they are real. The description of yellow eyes is interesting. I have had a number of people use this description when talking about the eyes of a black cat. Since this sighting took place at night, it is possible this was some kind of eye shine and not the actual color of the cat’s eyes; still, the yellow eyes description pops up often enough to make me wonder.

9/30/15

“A few months ago I had a large dark brown Cougar/Mountain Lion walk across the highway in front of me at 10:30 AM on a Saturday. The big cat was only 20 feet away when it went into the ditch and under the fence into dense underbrush. This sighting was about 2 miles south of FM 1093 on FM 723 south of Katy, Texas. The animal was heading in a westerly direction. I estimate it to weigh 75-100+ lbs.”

- Anonymous

TCH Comment: This would be news as the Katy area is heavily populated and continues to boom. Do not let that fact fool you, the Brazos River cuts through the area only a mile or so south of this location and the landscape gets pretty lonesome pretty fast in that direction. A big cat could easily have been using the river as a travel corridor and ventured off course to explore or look for food. If the witness really was only 20 feet away they obviously got a good look at this animal. The estimated weight of 75-100 lbs. rules out any domestic/feral cat or jaguarundi. The cat being described as “dark brown” is interesting. Most people know the golden, tawny hue of a typical mountain lion. This description tells me that this cat did not look like that. A cougar with a significantly darker than usual coat could easily be mistaken for a black animal in low light conditions. This could certainly explain at least some black panther reports.

9/29/15

“I have most certainly seen a large black cat in Dayton, TX. It was night time and my friend and I were in a field. We heard something so I shined the light over, and there it was just a couple of feet away from us. It turned and bolted extremely fast, but I’ll never forget how big it was or how long its tail was. Sighting was around September of 2010.

- Anonymous

TCH Comment: This is a pretty typical account that comes from an area of SE Texas with a long history of black panther reports. These anomalous cats are not considered anything unusual in this part of Texas. The description of a long tail would rule out most other types of wildlife and the witness clearly seemed rattled by the size of the animal. One has to wonder what that cat was doing creeping up so close to this witness and his friend. He might be very fortunate that he turned the light on the cat when he did.

Please continue to report sightings of these phantom cats to me. I continue to work hard on my black panther distribution map and look forward to being able to share it with you all soon. It is a labor of love but a labor, nonetheless and, like most all of you, I have a lot of irons in the fire daily and time to work on it is hard to come by. Throw in the fact that about the time I get it up to date, another half doze reports comes in and it is almost a never ending cycle of updates. Still, it shouldn't be long.

The Legend of the Oklahoma Octopus

The mid to late 1970’s were a time when the general public was fascinated with dangerous marine life. Steven Spielberg’ Jaws was a mega hit in the summer of 1975 and studios scrambled to make similar films about the horrors that lurked beneath the surface of rivers, lakes and oceans. Films like The Great Alligator (1979), Piranha (1978), Barracuda (1978) and The Deep (1977) capitalized on Jaws mania and moviegoers flocked to the theaters. We just could not get enough. One such film that I remember well was Tentacles (1975). It seemed promising as it featured a giant man- eating octopus and starred actors that I had actually heard of like John Huston, Shelley Winters and Henry Fonda. While the movie was a disappointment, it did make an impression. It led me to look into the question of whether or not the giant squid or a giant octopus might not be the real animal behind the kraken myth and to read all I could about sea monsters in general. I wondered, could a beast like the man-eating octopus depicted possibly be real?

I was reminded of this movie recently when I received an email from a reader asking for my opinion regarding the Oklahoma octopus. I will admit to not knowing much about the story surrounding the alleged octopus-like creature said by some to be prowling several Oklahoma lakes. I had heard a bit about the alleged creature but had not invested any time in looking into the matter. After receiving the email and reminiscing about the summers of my youth filled with movies about aquatic beasts of all kinds, I decided to learn more. I am a sucker for a good story, after all, and this tale fit the bill.

Allegedly, Native American legends going back over 200 years tell of a strange aquatic creature with a taste for human flesh. The beast is described as being the size of a horse, with reddish skin and long arms or tentacles. Today, the creature(s) is said to inhabit both Lake Thunderbird and Lake Ten Killer. According to the myth, both of these lakes have unusually high numbers of drownings and unexplained disappearances of swimmers. The legend was given credibility in the eyes of many when it was featured on an episode of the Animal Planet program Lost Tapes. Is there any truth to any of this? Is there any hard evidence to suggest that an octopus-like creature inhabits these Oklahoma lakes?

I was not able to find much in the way of evidence. As a matter of fact, I really only came up with one intriguing incident where there is physical evidence of an octopus being pulled from a freshwater reservoir and it occurred in Arkansas, Oklahoma’s neighbor to the east. On December 1, 2003, Illinois resident John Mazurek caught a fair-sized octopus that was clinging to one of the gates of the dam at Lake Conway. Mazurek was out fishing when he spotted the octopus and grabbed it. The catch was confirmed by Arkansas Fish and Game officials who said they had no idea how the octopus found its way into the reservoir. They theorized that someone had kept the octopus as a pet but dumped it in the lake once it grew too large. This certainly makes sense but the dumping would have to have taken place not too long before Mr. Mazurek came along, as the octopus was still alive when he caught it. Just how long a marine octopus could survive in a freshwater reservoir is up for debate but most would agree that it would not be very long. Regardless, the capture of a living octopus in a freshwater impoundment, even if it was in Arkansas and not Oklahoma, lends credence to the legends.

Or does it?

There are numerous problems with the idea of a population of octopus, or any other cephalopod, maintaining a breeding population in an inland freshwater lake or reservoir in Oklahoma. The first, and maybe most damning, fact is that there are no natural lakes in Oklahoma. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Every lake of any size at all in the Sooner State is a man-made reservoir. No lake in Oklahoma goes back long enough to make the alleged 200 year-old Native American legends possible. Lake Thunderbird was impounded between 1962-1965 and Lake Ten Killer, though older, was built between 1947-1952. I suspect strongly that there are no Native American legends about such a beast and that these alleged tales were added by some yarn-spinner in order to make the monster sound more plausible. Supporters of the existence of the Oklahoma octopus would likely defend the myths by stating that the creatures lived in the rivers of the state prior to the impoundment of the reservoirs but this is a tough one to swallow, in my opinion, as I have found zero evidence that suggests Native Americans believed such an animal existed. I have found no documentation of these legends and been unable to find anyone who can tell me what tribe(s) is affiliated with the myths (If I am incorrect on this and there are credible sources documenting tribal legends regarding these creatures, please email me and let me know).

Many will argue that other marine animals can survive just fine in freshwater environments. Certainly, there are some such cases. The bull shark, stingray and, on rare occasions, jellyfish are the poster children for this argument. I would simply counter by asking, is there even one species of cephalopod that has demonstrated this ability anywhere in the world? To my knowledge, the answer is no. I do not feel the bull shark/stingray argument is valid in this case.

I might be more open-minded to the possibility of a freshwater octopus if the bodies of water they allegedly inhabit were closer to the coast. For example, if a beast like this were being described in the brackish waters of Sabine Lake in southeast Texas, Lake Pontchartrain in southwest Louisiana or even a river or reservoir a bit more inland like Toledo Bend in east Texas, it would be more plausible. Oklahoma is just too far away from a marine environment to be the home of a large breeding population of cephalopods.

Still other hardcore believers in the octopus legend point to the episode of the Animal Planet series Lost Tapes that featured the creature. The episode centers around a rather unconvincing bit of video where a splash is heard and the videographer wheels to his left in time to catch a glimpse of what might be a tentacle sinking back into the water. To be blunt, the Lost Tapes series is a complete farce that falls into the same category of other mockumentaries produced by Animal Planet’s parent, The Discovery Channel, that featured megalodon and mermaids. It is simply a travesty that these programs are produced at all on allegedly educational networks much less that said networks bill them as being factual. Anyone putting their faith in the existence of the Oklahoma octopus based solely on the fact that it was featured on an episode of Lost Tapes is building their argument on a foundation of sand and setting themselves up for embarrassment.

There are other points to be made that make the existence of the Oklahoma octopus unlikely, at best. Most of these points are addressed quite nicely by Elizabeth Bergey, Ph. D of the Oklahoma Biological Survey in the video below. This presentation was created by Matt Korstjens and posted on Caleb Lack’s Great Plains Skeptic website. The video takes a couple of detours regarding other exotic invasive species in North America and the unreliability of eye-witness testimony that are a bit distracting but the interview with Dr. Bergey is solid. Take a look.



Some may think it odd that a guy that believes bigfoot and black panthers are real flesh and blood animals would doubt the existence of another alleged cryptid. That is okay. The truth is that I simply do not believe everything I hear. Even someone as open-minded to the possible existence of undocumented animals as I am needs more to go on that what is available regarding the Oklahoma octopus. Based on what I have been able to find, and it is not much, I do not feel there is anything to the legend. It is too bad really. What a great story it would be. In the end, however, it is almost certainly just that alone, a good story.


Sources:

Lack, Caleb. "Behold, the Legend of the Oklahoma Octopus." Great Plains Skeptic. 4 Jan. 2014. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. .

"Fisherman Catches Octopus in Lake Conway." THV11.com. Associated Press, 4 Dec. 2003. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. .

Bergey, Ph. D., Elizabeth. "Liz Bergey's Page." Bergey Lab. University of Oklahoma, 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. .

A Real Texas Sea Monster

Below is a photo of a 2000 lb. manta ray (Manta birostris) that was caught off the jetties in Galveston sometime in the early 1900's. This brute was caught by a 75-year old man. I can only imagine the fight he had on his hands prior to landing this fish.

Big rays like this were once commonly referred to as devil fish or sea devils and can reach widths of more than 20 feet. It is likely a safe assumption that some sea monster reports from years past were actually sightings of huge manta rays.

Source: Traces of Texas

Reader Reports Childhood Encounter With A Giant Snake

The growing population of Burmese pythons in the Everglades of Florida has become a well-known issue to the general public. While other invasives, such as the Argentine tegu, the zebra mussel and the piranha-like pacu are all causing problems for native wildlife and eco-systems, nothing seems to grab a hold of the imagination of the public quite like the thought of a mammoth snake slithering about the swamps and marshes of the American South.

I’ve long feared that the issues with which Florida is currently dealing in regards to invasive snakes could become a problem for us in Texas. I did a post a while back in which I compared the annual precipitation amounts and average temperatures of the Everglades to those in SE Texas and found them similar enough to think that Burmese pythons, and other exotic reptiles, would do just fine here as well. You can read that post here.

While this “invasion” of large exotic snakes has not taken place yet, there have been a few stories that have made their way in to me. You can hit the “giant snakes” tag in the right-hand margin to read about a couple of them. Recently, another account came in via email from a reader detailing an experience he had with a giant snake as a child. As you can imagine, I cannot absolutely verify that the story he tells is true but I can tell you that this reader provided his full name and sent the story in via an email. Most people who provide accounts of this nature simply send them in anonymously in the form of a comment to an existing post making communication after the fact impossible. That is not the case here, so make of all of that what you will. I am withholding the name of the reader of my own volition. He has not asked me to do so.

His account follows:

"A True Giant Snake Story

Two young children, a boy 7 and a his older sister, 8, lived occasionally with their adopted “Grandparents” who lived in a wooded area on Taylor Lake near Seabrook, Texas. Their home, well out in the country off a gravel road in those days, the boy and his sister would dismount from the school bus and walk just a little over a quarter of a mile up a one lane oyster shell road leading to the little farm house overlooking the lake.

On one particular day, the two children decided to walk through the edge of the woods adjoining the shell road. They were approximately 30 feet or so from left side the road when they approached a downed tree in their path. It was then that they saw something that chilled their blood. They never saw the snake’s head for it had already crossed the length of the rather large fallen oak tree; but they saw the body, as big around as a man’s arm—or more—as it slithered along, and, looking to the shell road as a way of putting distance between them and the snake, the children saw the tip of the tail of the giant snake as it crossed the shell road quite a distance away, disappearing into the grass beside the road.

As fast as their little legs could carry them, they raced along the shell road to the farmhouse where their “Grandma” and “Grandpa” were sitting on the front veranda facing the lake—shelling purple hull peas. The children yelled at the old couple to “get the gun—we’ve just seen the biggest snake you ever saw. It must be 40 feet long or more.”

The old couple smiled knowingly at each other and told the children to go out and play in the back yard. Even the children’s parents, who happened to be there at the time, dismissed the report as childish imagination. It just could not be true—there could never be such a snake around Taylor Lake, or in Texas for that matter—or maybe in the whole world.

But the children knew it was true and not an exaggeration. For many years, as they grew into their seventies, they sometimes would look into each others eyes and ask, “Do you remember that snake?” The two are still alive today: my sister lives in Dallas—and I live in Houston only 28 miles from where we saw “the snake” sometime around 1947 or 1948. We could never convince even our closest family members and friends of what we saw that day.

We have thought about it for many, many years and concluded that, perhaps, a large Python or Anaconda must have escaped from the Houston zoo; or somehow an Anaconda from South America had made its way north. The following is a cut from an article I recently found on the internet:

“There are some historical reports of early European explorers of the South American jungles seeing giant anacondas up to 100 feet long and some of the native peoples of the South American jungle have reported seeing anacondas up to 50 feet long.”

This story is true and my sister and I will go to our graves declaring it to be so.

XXXX XXXXX
Houston, Texas"

I suppose it is possible that this gentleman might be overestimating the overall length of the snake. Places and things we remember from our childhood often seem smaller than they did when we were little. Even if this is true, however, this still must have been a really big snake. Even if this gentleman has overestimated the length of the snake by fifty percent, that still leaves us with a serpent that is 20-feet or more in length. There is no snake native to North America that large. There are actually only a handful of snakes found anywhere in the world that approach 20-feet in length. The reader, himself, mentions two of them in his email: the anaconda and the python (several species of python can approach, or surpass, 20-feet in length). That being the case, we are almost assuredly dealing with an invasive animal. How in the world did it get to Seabrook, Texas? The date of the sighting, 1947 or 1948, predates the exotic pet trade that is causing so many problems today. Another possibility that crossed my mind is that it might have been a true “sea serpent” of some kind. Seabrook does, after all, sit right on Galveston Bay, which in turn, opens up to the Gulf of Mexico. This is an unlikely scenario to be sure, but you never know.

One other thought crossed my mind as well. What if this reader has not overestimated the length of the snake he saw at all? That is the stuff of which nightmares are made.

If anyone out there reading this has had a similar experience to that of this reader, please email it in to me. I would love to hear about it. It may also help me gauge whether or not we are seeing an increase in invasive species of snake in the Lone Star State.

Cryptids in the Bible Series: Leviathan

Normally, I keep things on this site pretty regional in nature. I concentrate on the goings on here in Texas and the surrounding states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico with the occasional glimpse into interesting happenings south of the border in Old Mexico. However, I’m going to widen things out a bit for this particular entry to discuss a question that has interested me for a long time; are cryptid creatures mentioned in the Bible?

A few weeks ago, I was reading in the book of Job. I’ve always found this Old Testament book very interesting. Whether you believe the book of Job to be a true historical account of events that really took place or just an allegory meant to make a point really makes no difference for our purposes here. What I’m interested in is a creature mentioned and described in great detail in the book. This creature has been the subject of much debate for centuries and may have inspired stories of a terrible monster that is found in the mythology of nearly every ancient culture the world over: the Leviathan.

The Leviathan is actually mentioned several times in the Old Testament. Psalm 74:14 and Psalm 104:26 reference the Leviathan. Of particular interest to me is Isaiah 27:1 which reads:

“In that day the Lord will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea.” (New Living Translation)

The books referenced above all describe a creature of great strength that lives in the sea: a classic sea serpent in every sense. Leviathan sounds like an animal for which a great amount of respect should be afforded. Most biblical scholars believe that, in Isaiah, the term Leviathan is being used symbolically as a term for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. While this may be true, the writer of the passage is comparing the Egyptian ruler to what seems to be an animal known to the people of the time; a “coiling, writhing serpent” of great power. The “dragon of the sea.”

While the Old Testament books above make brief mention of the Leviathan, the book that actually goes into the greatest detail about the beast is the book of Job. It gives a very clear picture of the appearance, size, and abilities of the Leviathan.

For those unfamiliar with the story of Job allow me to provide a bit of context. Job is generally believed to be the oldest book of the Bible and has a little bit of everything. Job rises to a position of importance and prosperity only to lose everything (wealth, family, friends, and health) but gathers himself and rises again. The book centers around the eternal conflict between good and evil as Satan spars with God over whether or not Job will turn his back on his Creator if his life suddenly, and without warning, goes awry. Satan does everything in his power to get Job to curse God but ultimately fails, as Job remains faithful. The purpose of the book seems to be to address the age-old question of why bad things happen to good people. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest books in the history of world literature. It is during Job’s low period when he begins to question God as to why these terrible things have befallen him that God answers him sternly. It is during this exchange that the Leviathan is described in great detail. You can read the entire passage in Job: 41 but I’ll hit some of the highlights below.

Job 41: 1 – “Can you catch Leviathan with a hook or put a noose around its jaw?” (New Living Translation)

Job 41: 7 – “Will its hide be hurt by spears or its head by harpoons?” (New Living Translation)

Job 41: 9 – “No it is useless to try to capture it. The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down.” (New Living Translation)

In the passage God is making a point to Job. He is basically saying, “Who are you to question me?” He emphasizes his strength and omnipotence by asking if Job, or any human, can capture, kill, or tame the mighty Leviathan. Whatever Leviathan was it was obviously quite powerful and dangerous. Also, it was clearly a creature of the water. Other more descriptive passages follow:

Job 41: 12-17 – “I want to emphasize Leviathan’s enormous strength and graceful form. Who can strip off its hide and who can penetrate its double layer of armor? Who could pry open its jaws? For its teeth are terrible. Its scales are like rows of shields so tightly sealed together that no air can get between them. Each scale sticks so tight to the next. They interlock and cannot be penetrated.” (New Living Translation)

Now things are getting really interesting. The physical description above is pretty detailed. Based on these passages, most scholars believe that the creature being described is a Nile crocodile. I feel confident most people out there know that the Nile crocodile is a deadly predator. It is a known man-eater. Certainly the assumption that the Leviathan is a Nile crocodile is an understandable and logical assumption based only on Job 41: 12-17. The problem is that the descriptions of the Leviathan do not stop after verse 17. They continue and the features and abilities ascribed to the Leviathan are really quite fantastic.

Job 41: 18-21 – “When it sneezes, it flashes light. Its eyes are like the red of dawn. Lightning leaps from its mouth; flames of fire flash out. Smoke streams from its nostrils like steam from a pot of heated over burning rushes. Its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth.” (New Living Translation)

THAT is pretty wild stuff. It gets more incredible still as the strength of the Leviathan is described.

Job 41: 22-34 – “The tremendous strength in Leviathan’s neck strikes terror wherever it goes. Its flesh is hard and firm and cannot be penetrated. Its heart is hard as rock, hard as millstone. When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by terror. No sword can stop it, no spear, dart, or javelin. Iron is nothing but straw to that creature, and bronze is like rotten wood. Arrows cannot make it flee. Stones shot from a sling are like bits of grass and it laughs at the swish of javelins. Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass. It plows up the ground as it plows through the mud. Leviathan makes the water boil with its commotion. It stirs the depths like a pot of ointment. The water glistens in its wake, making the sea look white. Nothing on earth is its equal, no other creature so fearless. Of all the creatures, it is the proudest. It is the king of beasts.” (New Living Translation)

Here is where I feel the Nile crocodile theory loses some steam. The crocodile was widely known even in ancient times and, while a predator worthy of inspiring terror, it was a far cry from the beast described in Job 41. Why would the author of Job ascribe fire-breathing abilities to a crocodile? What crocodile, fearsome though it might be, could ever “kindle coals” with the breath from its mouth? In addition to the fire-breathing qualities ascribed to the Leviathan, the animal is described as all but invulnerable. Again, crocodiles are big and dangerous reptiles and are well armored; however, the statement, “No sword can stop it, no spear, dart, or javelin,” certainly is not, nor has it ever been accurate when it comes to these animals. Crocodiles have been hunted and killed by men since ancient times. Certainly, the phrases “Iron is nothing but straw to that creature,” and “bronze is like rotten wood” do not apply to the crocodile.

It is possible that the writer of the book of Job engaged in a bit of hyperbole when describing the beast known as Leviathan. His point, after all, was to show how powerful and strong God was compared to his follower Job. He certainly makes his point. Still, this doesn’t ring completely true to me. If the writer was describing a crocodile, why would he describe abilities and characteristics that his audience would know this reptile did not possess? Wouldn’t that have hurt his credibility?

I want to ask those of you reading this a favor at this point. I would like any of you who have young children to read the description of Leviathan found in Job: 41 to them and ask them what animal they think is being described. I’d say chances are good they would come up with a candidate within moments:

A dragon.

I must admit that dragon myths have always interested me. How can ancient civilizations in Europe, China, Japan, Central America, and South America, and other locales around the globe all have stories of the same type of creatures? These cultures had little to no contact with one another. What was the basis for these similar legends? Was there an animal, found around the world, now long extinct that is the basis for the dragon myth? If so, is this mystery animal the creature described in the book of Job?

I suppose we’ll never know.

The White River Monster

What would cryptozoology be without lake monsters? These creatures, real or not, are well known to the public. Names like Ogopogo, Champ, and, of course, Nessie, possibly the most famous cryptid creature in the world, have stirred the imaginations of people for generations. The three cryptids mentioned above make up a sort of “who’s who” of lake monsters but are far from alone in the world. There are numerous less well-known lake monsters that allegedly haunt bodies of water of varying sizes across the globe. One of these lesser-known beasts is said to swim the waters of an unassuming river in Arkansas.

The White River monster or “Whitey,” as it is referred to by locals, has been periodically reported for more than 100 years. The monster is very well-known regionally and accepted as being real by a surprisingly high number of Arkansas residents. There are rumors that the White River monster first reared its head during the Civil War. Legend has it that the monster played a part in the sinking of a supply boat during the conflict. Details are extremely vague, however, and while I found many references to this story, I could never determine whether the vessel that was supposedly lost belonged to the Union or the Confederacy.



What is more clear is that sightings began to pick up in 1912 when timber workers, who were floating rafts of cedar down the river below Branson, Missouri, reported seeing something highly unusual. The workers said they saw something very large on the bottom of the river that they, at first, mistook for a boulder. When it moved, however, they realized it was something else altogether. They estimated the size of the creature to be at least 300 lbs. The witnesses described the monster as a turtle of enormous size. As one might imagine, the sighting caused quite a stir and local fishermen and hunters quickly organized a monster hunt. The results of this monster hunt have been lost to history. That being the case, it is probably safe to assume the monster hunters returned empty handed without ever seeing anything out of the ordinary.

In 1924, “Whitey” showed up further downstream in Arkansas. A woman reported seeing the monster surface and emit a loud “blowing noise.” She described the animal as gray in color with a “strange kind of hide.”



The monster of the White River received a boat load of publicity in 1937 after a farmer named Bramlett Bateman reported that some of his workers had seen something strange in a deep eddy just six miles downstream from Newport, Arkansas. Bateman, not simply taking the word of his workers, went to the river to take a look for himself and also sighted the beast. He described an animal that was a car-length in width and three car-lengths in length with the hide of an elephant. The story spread like wildfire across the nation as newspaper editors from coast-to-coast published Bateman’s account. It should be mentioned here that this intense interest in the White River monster by newspapers might have been fueled by the intense interest shown by the public when the first real wave of Loch Ness monster sighting coverage occurred just four years previously.

The hunt for “Whitey” received intense publicity. Newport residents fashioned a huge rope net they hoped would suffice to bag the monster. The net was 40-feet long and 15-feet wide and the plan was for a small armada of boats to sweep the eddy area with it in the hopes of catching the monster. Adding to the circus-like atmosphere was the fact that a fence was erected by the Newport Chamber of Commerce on the banks of the river overlooking the eddy where the monster had been seen. For a mere quarter locals could come and gawk as the monster hunters plied the waters in search of the creature. Alas, nothing was ever found.

The White River monster was spotted periodically over the years after the 1937 flap but didn’t really receive much in the way of attention again until 1971. That is the year Newport resident David Jenks reported seeing a huge animal in the river that he described as being gray and long with a “pointy bone” protruding from its head. He estimated the weight of the creature at 1,000 lbs. On June 28th of that same year, a man named Cloyce Warrren snapped a photograph that he said showed the monster. The photo was a bit blurry but seemed to show a hump of some sort floating in the river. These two sightings put the search for “Whitey” back into high gear. On July 5th, a county sheriff reported finding unusual footprints on Towhead Island just north of Bateman Eddy. The prints were 14” long and 8” wide with three long toes. The prints appeared to show a spur of some sort that projected from the heel. Periodic sightings continued over the summer of 1971. Foremost among them was a report filed by a fisherman and his grandson who claimed something had come up from the depths of the river and bumped their boat from below.



The Arkansas legislature designated a stretch of the White River between Newport and Possum Grape as the "White River Monster Refuge" in 1973. The resolution made it illegal to kill, harass, or otherwise harm the monster within the boundaries of the refuge. Whether this was done in jest or not I cannot say with any degree of certainty. I can think of only one law anywhere else in the country that is similar and that is the ordinance originally passed by Skamania County, Washington in 1969, which made it illegal to kill or harm a sasquatch. Most considered Skamania County’s actions to be a tongue-in-cheek jest meant to capitalize on tourist dollars. Having visited the county, I can assure you that the people of rural Washington take the sasquatch a lot more seriously than you might think. From what I can tell, longtime residents living along the White River feel the same way about their monster.



What could the White River monster be? Several theories have been advanced. Two have gained the most traction over the years. Many believe “Whitey” to be nothing more than a giant alligator snapping turtle. These turtles can grow to some truly impressive sizes. The largest ever caught was in excess of 400 lbs and they do inhabit the rivers, swamps, lakes, and reservoirs of the south. Descriptions of an animal with a large hump with spikes, a pointed head, and dark gray in color could describe a snapping turtle. Remember, too, that the lumber men working the river in 1912 initially described what they saw as a giant turtle. In addition, these turtles are believed to live up to 150 years. One excessively large specimen could be responsible for decades of sightings. There are problems with this theory though. Very few witnesses describe the White River monster as being in the 300-500 lb. range. Some, to the contrary, report the creature to be truly enormous and in excess of 1,000 lbs. Snapping turtles have never been known to get this big. In addition, most people living in rural bottom-lands are very familiar with what a snapping turtle looks like. For these folks to mistake a turtle for a monster seems unlikely.

Biologist Roy P. Mackal has put forth what has become another popular theory; mainly, the White River monster is nothing but an incredibly lost bull elephant seal. Mackal theorizes that the elephant seal ended up in the White River after traveling up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico. Elephant seals are truly enormous creatures. Males can reach lengths in excess of 16-feet and weigh in at 6,600 lbs. The bulls are known for their large trunk-like proboscis from whence they get their name. The bulls use this “trunk” to help them make extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially important during mating season. Some of the descriptions given for the White River monster would seem to be a good match for a bull elephant seal. The “horn” that some have described protruding from the head of the creature could be nothing more than an elephant seal’s large trunk-like proboscis. The size of an elephant seal matches up to several of the descriptions of an animal the “size of a boxcar.” Also, some witnesses have described an odd type of skin on the White River monster that matches up well to what elephant seals look like during molting. It seems like a good match but, again, there are issues with this theory. The main problem is that no self-respecting elephant seal would be anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico. The northern elephant seal ranges from Alaska to Mexico but are always found on the Pacific side of the North American continent. Southern elephant seals are found much farther south on the islands surround Antarctica and only occasionally near Australia and New Zealand. This makes the southern elephant seal an unlikely candidate to have ventured up the Mississippi River. Finally, elephant seals typically live only about 15 years. A wayward bull could not possibly account for the sightings over so many years.



Personally, I don’t put much stock into the snapping turtle or elephant seal theories. I do feel that the most likely explanation is that a known animal has ventured outside its known range (though not as far as an elephant seal would have to roam) and is being seen by the locals. I think it is entirely possible that what people have seen, and continue to see periodically, is a Gulf sturgeon. Sturgeon are an ancient group of fishes that have remained virtually unchanged since the age of the dinosaurs. Some types of sturgeon can reach massive sizes. The Gulf sturgeon can be in excess of 8-feet in length and weigh more than 200 lbs. They are covered in scutes (modified scales) that form a very effective protective armor for the fish. Some of these scutes do appear raised and give the sturgeon a “razorback” look (appropriate for a river in Arkansas). This could account for reports of the White River Monster having spike-like projections on its back. These scutes also give the sturgeon an appearance very different than that of other fish. They would appear prehistoric and alien to someone not familiar with them. The head of the Gulf sturgeon features an extended snout with four tactile barbels on the chin in front of the mouth. The unique design of the sturgeon’s head further adds to the odd appearance of the fish. The Gulf sturgeon is anadromous. In other words, it lives in marine environments but migrates to freshwater rives to spawn. The Gulf sturgeon's spawning habits have not been well studied but it does appear that the species is a “home stream spawner.” Basically, this means that individuals return to the rivers where they were born to carry out their own reproductive efforts. The Gulf sturgeon is a long-lived species. Scientists conservatively estimate the average lifespan of the species to be 25-30 years with the females living longer than the males. Some have speculated the females of the species might be capable of living for 100 years or more. These fish do occasionally jump and have actually struck and injured swimmers and boater when doing so.



I posit that at some point in the past a Gulf sturgeon, or a small group of them, ventured farther up the Mississippi River than would be typical in order to spawn. They found their way into the White River and reproduced. The fact that they live a long time could account for sightings over the decades. In addition, the fact that sturgeon return to the rivers where they were spawned would mean that a small number of these fish would continue to return to the White River year after year. That being the case, sightings of the White River monster could continue in perpetuity.

The fact that Gulf sturgeon are anadromous, are home stream spawners, live for a very long time, reach truly large sizes, do occasionally breach or jump from the water, are known to inhabit the Mississippi River for several months of the year, and are very unique and “prehistoric looking” in appearance make them my number one suspect in the mystery of the White River Monster.

There is no definitive answer as to what the White River monster might be. One thing is for sure, however, and that is many locals continue to believe it is there, somewhere in the river, waiting to be discovered.

The Sea Monster of Port Isabel

Since time immemorial men have been fascinated and lured by the sea. Explorers, treasure-seekers, fishermen, adventurers, and pirates have all plied the waters of the sea hoping, in different ways, to make their mark. But there is more to the allure of the sea than the promise of wealth. There is a sense of mystery about it. You’ve probably heard it said that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the ocean floor. This would be an accurate statement. The bone-crushing depths and the sheer vastness of the world’s oceans have proven formidable obstacles to overcome in our efforts to explore the sea and have left us with a sense of awe and wonder.

I think it is safe to say there is also a healthy respect born out of, to some degree, fear. The power of the ocean in nearly unimaginable but there is more to it than that. There is also a great sense of the unknown, which can spawn trepidation. Fear of what might be swimming below us in the dark depths has given birth to many frightening stories. Tales from the earliest times of seafaring have hinted at beasts that are truly terrifying. Some, like the dreaded kraken, have turned out to be based on real creatures. Other reported sea monsters, however, do not seem to match up well with animals now known to modern science. The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico have spawned their own tales of sea monsters. It is one such story that I will recount now.



The year was 1938 and sport fishing had become a big draw in the south Texas town of Port Isabel. Wealthy sportsmen flocked to the Rio Grande Valley to go after trophy tarpon and various species of billfish. There was a yearly tournament called the Rio Grande Valley Fishing Rodeo, which was later renamed the Texas International Fishing Tournament, that provided an influx of tourists and their coveted dollars annually. On August 10th of that year things took a bit of a turn. The Brownsville Herald, in a short article on the back page, devoted several paragraphs to the sighting of a huge and unknown creature in the waters off Port Isabel. According to the article, several captains and their crews along with personnel aboard several other vessels had spotted a massive creature at least 40-feet in length swimming near the surface. While the article offered no further description of the creature, the term “sea monster” was used and the frenzy began.

Theories as to what the mystery beast could be varied greatly. Sally Crowe, a stenographer for the Rio Grande Valley Fishing Rodeo, put forth the reasonable theory that the beast might be a basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus). This shark is one of the largest fish on the planet and reaches lengths approaching 40-feet. When asked how she came up with the theory that the Port Isabel sea monster might be a basking shark, Ms. Crowe replied, “I just started at the front page of a dictionary and stopped at every picture of a fish – and there it was on page 180!”

Another reasonable theory put forth on August 12th in the Brownsville Daily Herald by a Mr. Alton Hutson was that the creature in question was nothing more than a whale shark (Rhincodon typus). The whale shark is generally acknowledged to be the largest of all fishes and specimens up to and exceeding 40-feet in length are not uncommon.

Other theories ranging from giant sea turtles to Port Isabel’s very own version of the Loch Ness monster were bandied about as well. It wasn’t long before speculation on the creature’s identity by the locals gave way to discussions on ways to catch it.



It seems at least one person grew weary of waiting around for someone to come up with a plan. Ms. Charlotte Sewell, a well-known sportswoman who had claimed the Valley fishing tournaments women’s division championship in 1936 and 1937 decided to take matters into her own capable hands. She famously proclaimed in the August 12th edition of the Brownsville Daily Herald, in an article entitled “Women May Seek Sea Monster,” that she was willing to join a search party to seek out the mystery creature. She added that if the men of Port Isabel were not up to the challenge, she would put together an all woman team of monster hunters. Nobody seemed to doubt that she meant every word she said.

Ms. Sewell’s comments seemed to achieve the desired effect as within days it was decided that an expedition to seek out the Port Isabel sea monster would become a reality. Scouting vessels were dispatched to patrol the waters in the area where the great beast had been seen. The plan was, once the creature’s general location had been determined, a ship outfitted with harpoons and 500-feet of rope attached to tightly plugged barrels (think the chase scene from the movie Jaws) would hurry to the scene in an effort to end the mystery once and for all. Even the U.S. Coast Guard got involved though, to be honest, it appears they wanted to keep an eye on the monster hunters more than they wanted to help capture the monster itself. The commander of the Coast Guard station on Padre Island, Capt. Pablo Valent, said, “We do not contemplate that the party will run into trouble but it is in line of our duty that we be ready to offer aid should it be needed. Our boats will be within reach from the time the fish is sighted until he is lost or returned to port.”

The flagship of the hunt turned out to be skippered by none other than the Vice-President of the Port Isabel Chamber of Commerce, a Mr. B.B. Burnell. Burnell’s vessel carried a who’s who of local luminaries including the mayor of Port Isabel, the Fishing Rodeo’s president, the founder of the Fishing Rodeo, a well-known physician, and numerous other well-to-do residents. Predictably, the search party was not successful in their efforts to catch a glimpse of the sea monster. Burnell remained upbeat, however, and was quoted in the August 18th edition of the Brownsville Daily Herald as saying, “We know he exists and we believe he again will put in his appearance here.” He added, “When he does we will be ready to go after him.”



If the sea monster, whatever it was, ever did make another appearance along the south Texas coast it is not recorded. The story of the monster, as such tales often do, faded into history and was forgotten by most. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in Port Isabel today who has even heard of the sea monster sightings of 1938.

I visited Padre Island and Port Isabel back in the early 1990’s. I recall walking out on a long pier at sunset with the young lady I was seeing at the time. At the end of the pier sat an old man in a folding chair. He sat motionless and stared out at the open water of the lower Laguna Madre. He had no fishing pole or gear. He merely sat and stared out across the expanse of water. I knew nothing of the Port Isabel sea monster at that time or I might have worked my nerve up to ask him about it. I have since come to wonder if maybe this old man had been around back in 1938, had maybe even seen the creature himself, and was still patiently waiting for the monster to make another appearance.

I suppose, like the identity of the monster itself, I will never know.