Case file · Cryptid
White River Monster returns
A new wave of White River sightings in 1971 included reports of a peeling grey creature and huge three-toed tracks on Towhead Island; in 1973 the Arkansas legislature declared a White River Monster Refuge.
1971 CE · 35.62, -91.27 · status: account
The account
Witnesses described an animal the size of a boxcar with a spiny back. The refuge resolution, signed by Governor Dale Bumpers, made it illegal to harm the creature in that stretch of river.
The sceptical view
Biologists suggested an elephant seal; no specimen or clear photograph exists.