Encounter Atlas
Altie is said to live where the Altamaha River spreads into marsh, old rice fields and tidal creeks near Darien on the Georgia coast. Witnesses describe a dark animal 20 to 30 feet long with a long snout, a ridged back and flippers, that swims with up-and-down humps rather than side to side.
The Brunswick News has traced the legend back to Muscogee tradition. Fishermen and boaters have reported it for decades. In 2018 a strange carcass on a beach in the Wolf Island refuge looked like the Altie of local drawings, until performance artist Zardulu said she had built it from a stuffed shark and papier-mâché.
Many think Altie is a very large sturgeon or alligator gar, both of which live in the river. A sculpture of the creature stands at the Darien welcome center.
What witnesses report
- A long snout like a sturgeon or crocodile
- Bony plates or ridges along the back
- Up-and-down humps as it swims
- Seen in tidal creeks at dawn or dusk
Famous cases
- 2018Wolf Island carcass stunt
Wolf Island, Georgia
Seen the Altamaha-ha?
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