Encounter Atlas
Whitey is a huge grey animal reported in the White River near Newport, Arkansas. In July 1915 a plantation owner described it as wide as a car and three cars long. In 1937 plantation owner Bramlett Bateman said it had skin like an elephant and a face like a catfish, and lay lolling on the surface. Crowds came with cameras, and plans to net it or blast it with dynamite fell through.
In 1971 the creature was back. Witnesses described a peeling grey animal the size of a boxcar with a bony spike on its forehead, making a sound like a cow crossed with a horse, and 14-inch three-toed tracks were found on Towhead Island.
In 1973 the Arkansas legislature created the White River Monster Refuge, where it is illegal to harm the creature. A lost elephant seal or a giant catfish are the favourite explanations.
What witnesses report
- A huge grey back like an overturned boat
- Skin that looks like it is peeling
- A bony spike on the forehead
- A noise like a cow and a horse mixed
- Three-toed tracks on sandbars
Famous cases
- 1915First reported sighting
Newport, Arkansas - 1937Bateman sightings and crowds
Newport, Arkansas - 1971Boxcar-sized sightings and tracks
Newport, Arkansas - 1973White River Monster Refuge created
Jackson County, Arkansas
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