Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

monster when something lifted their boat upward
out of the water. Sightings continued
through August.
R. C. McClauglen and his family watched an
animal thrash in the river for five minutes near
Jacksonport on June 5, 1972.
Possible explanations:
(1) A stray Southern elephant seal
(Mirounga leonina), according to Roy
Mackal. However, these bulky, 15-foot seals
are found in the southern Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans surrounding Antarctica,
though individuals have been found as far
north as the equator.
(2) A large Lake sturgeon (Acipenser
fulvescens), with olive-gray coloration and
scutes along its back and sides, can grow to
9 feet long. However, Whitey’s skin was
described as smooth.
(3) A large catfish, possibly a Blue catfish
(Ictalurus furcatus), which can grow to more
than 5 feet long.
(4) The American alligator (Alligator
mississippiensis) is found in this part of
Arkansas, especially in areas where it has
been restocked and reintroduced. It may
account for some sightings of 10- to 15-foot
animals.
(5) Hoaxed tracks, though some were found
in unlikely spots.
(6) A giant penguin, suggested by Ivan T.
Sanderson, based on the alleged similarity of
the tracks with THREE-TOES in Florida.
Sources: “Fresh-water Monster Dropped,”
Fortean Society Magazine, no. 1 (September
1937): 5; “Arkansas Has a Problem,” Pursuit, no.
16 (October 1971): 89–95; Roy P. Mackal,
Searching for Hidden Animals (Garden City,
N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 198–208; F. G.
Wood, “Cryptoletter,” ISC Newsletter 1, no. 2
(Summer 1982): 11; Roy P. Mackal,
“Cryptoletter,” ISC Newsletter 1, no. 3 (Autumn
1982): 10–11; James R. McLeod, “Cryptoletter,”
ISC Newsletter 2, no. 1 (Spring 1983): 10.
Wihwin
SEA MONSTER of the coast of Central America.
Etymology: Mískito (Misumalpan) word.
Physical description: Horselike. Sharp teeth.
Behavior: Goes ashore in the summer.
Distribution: Atlantic coast of Nicaragua and
Honduras.
Source: Hubert Howe Bancroft, The Native
Races of the Pacific States of North America
(New York: D. Appleton, 1875), vol. 3.
WILDMEN
In this category are included seventy-two types
of human-sized (5 feet–6 feet 6 inches tall),
hairy, bipedal humans that may represent the
survival of hominid species other than modern
Homo sapiens. A widespread tradition of such
creatures exists on five continents, especially in
Asia, which is home to more than half of the
named varieties. North America is conspicuously
absent, although it has GIANT HOMINIDS,
HAIRY BIPEDS, and NORTH AMERICAN APES in
abundance.
A surviving group of Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis)
might account for some Wildman
sightings. These cold-adapted archaic humans
lived in Europe as far west as Britain and
in Asia as far east as Uzbekistan during the Late
Pleistocene, 100,000–30,000 years ago. Their
physical characteristics included a flat, low cranium;
a bulging occipital lobe at the back of the
skull; enlarged, broad nostrils; swept-back
cheekbones; large teeth, especially the incisors;
strong jaws; no chin; strong musculature; and
thick bones. The average height for males was 5
feet 6 inches and for females 5 feet 3 inches.
Males weighed more than 140 pounds, while females
were lighter, at 110 pounds. Neanderthal
cranial capacity was greater than ours, averaging
more than 1,450 milliliters (modern humans
average 1,300 milliliters). There is good evidence
that they buried their dead, cared for disabled
individuals, communicated in a limited
way, hunted large animals, and produced primitive
stone tools (Mousterian culture). Neanderthals
probably originated in Europe from archaic
humans of the Middle Pleistocene,
350,000–150,000 years ago, perhaps represented
by the fossils found at Swanscombe in
England, Steinheim in Germany, and
Fontéchevade in France. Though not currently
WILDMEN 587