White River Monster -- Possible Explanations

The most popular explanation for what people have seen in the White River has to be the lost elephant seal theory. Elephant seals do create the strange sounds attributed to Whitey, a blend between a moo and a neigh. They do have grey skin, are large, and would likely startle someone from Arkansas since they are not native to the area.

As with all theories, there are holes. For an elephant seal to reach the White River, it would first have to swim from California, down the western seaboard to the Panama Canal, up the eastern seaboard to the mouth of the Mississippi River, and finally down the White River. Considering an elephant seal’s expected lifespan is only 15 years, this would indeed be quite an achievement. Then again, an elephant seal’s life span is about 15 years, but sightings of Whitey have been reported for over 100 years. That would mean that multiple elephant seals would have gotten lost, taken the same route, and ended up in the same place. The odds of this happening are just too remote to seriously be entertained as a reasonable explanation. Not to mention the strange tracks.

Another explanation for Whitey is a sunken boat. With this theory, a sunken boat traps decomposition gases as they rise from the bottom of the river. As the boat fills with the gases, it surfaces. Upon surfacing, the boat becomes top heavy which allows the gas to escape. This then causes the boat to again sink to the bottom to start the cycle over again.

This would explain the bubbles and the predictable surfacing pattern Bateman noticed. However there are holes with this theory as well. Witnesses have reported seeing the creature moving both up and down river while submerged and on the surface. Also, Brown did not find a sunken boat in the eddy when he was searching for the creature in 1937. As an experienced deep sea Naval diver, one would assume that Brown would have made mention of a submerged vessel, but he did not.

And again there are those strange tracks …


Check back soon for "White River Monster -- The tracks"