The Honey Island Swamp monster is a hominid cryptid reported to have been seen in Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana, since 1963.
The creature is described as bipedal, 7 feet tall, with gray hair and yellow or red eyes, and accompanied by a disgusting smell. Footprints supposedly left by the creature have four webbed toes.
The first claimed sighting was in 1963 by Harlan Ford, a retired air traffic controller who had taken up wildlife photography. After his death in 1980, a reel of Super 8 film showing the creature was allegedly found among his belongings.
In 1974, the monster gained national fame after Ford and his friend Billy Mills claimed to have found unusual footprints in the area, as well as the body of a wild boar whose throat had been gashed. Ford continued to hunt for the creature for the next six years.
The idea of a large, ape-like creature in the area is not without its critics, notably the local ecologist Paul Wagner who, with his wife Sue, run nature tours in the area. Neither they nor their Cajun guide, Robbie Charbonnet, have seen any evidence for it.
A legend tells of a train wreck in the area in the early 20th century. A travelling circus was on the train, and from it a group of chimpanzees escaped and interbred with the local alligator population.
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Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology
ParanormalCryptozoology is the study of animals that are undiscovered by science such as Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, and the Yeti. This is an encyclopedia of the creatures of cryptozoology also known as cryptids. This is by no means a complete list of al...
