Honey Island Swamp
Encyclopedia
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington....
. Honey Island earned its name because of the honeybees once seen on a nearby isle.
The swamp is bordered on the north by U.S. 90
U.S. Route 90 in Louisiana
U.S. Highway 90, one of the major east–west U.S. Highways in the Southern United States, runs through southern Louisiana for , serving Lake Charles, Lafayette, New Iberia, Morgan City and New Orleans...
, on the south by Lake Borgne
Lake Borgne
Lake Borgne is a lagoon in eastern Louisiana of the Gulf of Mexico. Due to coastal erosion, it is no longer actually a lake but rather an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Its name comes from the French word borgne, which means "one-eyed".-Geography:...
, on the east by the Pearl River
Pearl River (Mississippi-Louisiana)
The Pearl River is a river in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Louisiana. It forms in Neshoba County, Mississippi from the confluence of Nanih Waiya and Tallahaga creeks. It is long. The Yockanookany and Strong rivers are tributaries. Northeast of Jackson, the Ross Barnett Reservoir is formed by...
and the west by the West Pearl River
It is one of the least-altered river swamps in the United States. Considered by many to be one of the most pristine swampland habitats in the United States, the Honey Island Swamp covers an area that is over 20 miles (30 km) long and nearly 7 miles (10 km) across, with 34,896 of its 70,000 acres (280 km²) government sanctioned as permanently protected wildlife area. This swamp is also the home of the legendary Honey Island Swamp monster
Honey Island Swamp monster
The Honey Island Swamp monster is a humanoid cryptid reported from Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana since 1963. In native Americans, this creature called Letiche. Cajun call it the Tainted Keitre.-Description:...
, which has from time to time been known as the "Tainted Keitre". Honey Island Swamp is located on the Pearl River WMA Owned by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Swamp Monster
Main article: Honey Island Swamp monsterHoney Island Swamp monster
The Honey Island Swamp monster is a humanoid cryptid reported from Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana since 1963. In native Americans, this creature called Letiche. Cajun call it the Tainted Keitre.-Description:...
The swamp is famous for being the home of the Honey Island Swamp monster
Honey Island Swamp monster
The Honey Island Swamp monster is a humanoid cryptid reported from Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana since 1963. In native Americans, this creature called Letiche. Cajun call it the Tainted Keitre.-Description:...
. The creature is described as bipedal, seven feet (2.2 metres) tall, with gray hair and yellow eyes. It is accompanied by a disgusting smell. Footprints supposedly left by the creature have four toes. The first claimed sighting was in 1963 by Harlan Ford, a retired Air traffic controller who took 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 a friend 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 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. They claim they have not seen any evidence for it. A local legend tells of a train crash in the area in the early twentieth century. A travelling circus was on the train, and from it a group of chimpanzees escaped, interbreeding with the local alligator population.