From the Pearl River Eco-Tours website:
“Just a short drive from New Orleans, Louisiana are many acres of swamp land deep in the Honey Island Swamp that are said to be as uncorrupted, primitive, and untouched by man as anywhere in America. It is for this very reason that some say it may actually be possible for a creature to live in these parts and go unnoticed by humans…well almost unnoticed.
Legends abound in the swamp. There are legends about pirates such as Jean Lafitte, Pierre Remaux and many more who supposedly hid buried treasures in these swamps. There legends about ghosts of native American Indians that still roam these swamps at night and about mysterious green lights flickering at night deep in the swamps and lead travelers into the wilderness where they never return, but nothing has seemed to have captured the attention of man like that of the legend of the Honey Island Swamp Monster.
Honey Island Swamp Monster
The first documented sighting of the creature took place in early August of 1963. Harlan Ford, a retired air traffic controller, and his friend Ray Mills came home from the swamp with an incredible story. The pair of veteran hunters claimed that while out in the swamps they came across a large creature standing over the body of a dead boar.
Harlan described the creature as being covered in dingy grey hair, with longer hair hanging from its head. The two estimated the creature weighed close to 400 pounds and stood about 7 feet tall. The creature’s enormous size and hair was frightening enough, but the amber colored eyes and horrible stench that reeked from the creature were the two things that stuck in Harlan and Ray’s mind from this unbelievable encounter.
While news of this story spread like wildfire, the locals knew that stories of this ferocious creature go back hundreds of years. The Native Americans of the area called the creature Letiche, and described it as meat eating, human-like creature that lived in the water and on the land. The Indians from this area believed that the swamp monster was once an abandoned child who was raised by alligators in the deep dark regions of the swamp. Cajuns called the creature Loup Carou, which some say means werewolf.
Some researchers believe that the Honey Island Swamp Monster is related to Bigfoot. While the body size and description is very similar, the tracks found in and around Honey Island Swamp do not resemble tracks collected in the Pacific North West. They are 4 and sometimes 3 toed, much like tracks discovered in southeastern Texas and parts of Florida.”