The Altamaha is one of the largest rivers in Georgia. Flowing east around 130 miles, the river empties into the Atlantic Ocean, and has one of the largest drainage Basins on the East Coast. The river has a rich history, with native Americans and Europeans travelling on it, allowing them to easily conduct commerce. As the river approaches the Atlantic Ocean it becomes a massive estuary, with dark colored water.
This swampy, transition area connects to both the river and the ocean and is home to hundreds of endangered species. In these dark waters though, lurks something different. An unknown creature that has been witnessed for centuries, by the people residing around the river. The monster is known as Altamaha-ha and nicknamed “Altie”.
Altie is an aquatic cryptid reported up and down the Altamaha River. Witnesses claim it is around 10 to 50 feet in length and having snake or eel-like qualities. The creature is said to have 2-3 humps, with a tail that is horizontal like a porpoise. Many believe this animal is prehistoric and others speculate this cryptid originates from the ocean and comes to the Altamaha River to lay its eggs. It’s an interesting theory and is evidenced by several sightings of young Alties and also by the variation in length with some witnesses reporting seeing an 80-foot monster with others seeing the cryptid only ten feet long.
Sightings of Altie date back hundreds of years, with French explorers from the 1500’s first witnessing it among non-natives. Many of these accounts, as well as native American stories, were passed down through oral tradition.
However, one well documented sighting occurred in 1830.
This was picked up by Savannah’s Georgian newspaper with multiple sightings of the creature. The main witness was Captain Delano who reported seeing a large creature off of St. Simons Island below the mouth of the Altamaha River. He described the creature as being 70 feet long with a circumference of a barrel. Its head resembled that of an alligator. During this sighting, 5 other men witnessed the beast as well.
Perhaps the most famous report occurred in 1980 though. In the summer that year. Andy Greene and Barry Prescott alleged to have seen Altie stuck on a mud bank near Cathead Creek. The creature was half in the water half on land, thrashing and trying to free itself.
The men said it was dark colored, with a rough skin, and that it moved like nothing they had ever seen before. They later recalled:
“The creature was huge, three to four feet thick and around 20 feet long. They watched the beast for 10 minutes, before it finally freed itself, went under the dark water and disappeared”.
Other reports describe the creature as being more snakelike in appearance.
In the 1920s several timbermen on the river reported witnessing a large snakelike water monster. 15 years later, a group of men were hunting and saw what they would later call a “giant snake” swimming through the river.”
In 1960, two brothers fishing spotted an unknown creature and said it had a snout like an alligator, a horizontal tail, a triangular ridge along the top of its body and sharp pointed teeth.
There’s been numerous experienced fishermen and outdoorsman who have spotted the creature over the decades.
(Read about Canada’s Water Cryptid Ogopogo here)
But the question remains, what is Altie?
The first theory says that Altie is a pre-historic animal, and some versions say related the Loch Ness Monster while other say it they’re not related. Altie spends most of its time in the Ocean, but when it’s time to lay it eggs it swims upstream the river and finds a dark secluded spot. From a biological perspective this theory is interesting as many animals travel great distance to lay their eggs.
Another theory that has become popular is that people are not seeing a new creature, but an existing one known as the alligator gar. These creatures do match pretty closely with what many of the witnesses have seen and the largest on record is measured around 20 feet. Could there just be massive alligator gars in the river?
Critics of this theory point out that most alligator gars are found in Louisiana and Texas. Also, it doesn’t explain the size differences from many of the witnesses. There’s quite a difference between 20 feet and 50 feet. It also seems strange that experienced fisherman and hunters wouldn’t be able to identify this animal.
Despite the differences in theories, there is pretty much a consensus that Altie is not aggressive. Still, it appears though this unknown creature is very recluse.
