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Unknown Animal Captured On Video In Louisiana

John Doe

Gone But Not Forgotten
(ACCOUNT RETIRED)
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Jun 13, 2017
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In April a pilot flying over the Tensas river captured an unknown animal in the water. I was given the footage to try and enhance it as much as possible. Along with cleaning up the video I also analyzed the footage with 3D software to prove the actual size of the animal. I took the footage to two college professors and they could not identify the animal.

This story has yet to be picked up by an investigative team, but I am hoping someone takes interest.

 
Fascinating, thanks for posting that.
You bet! I'm trying to get as many people interested as possible. The gentleman who filmed it and myself aren't trying to make any money off this, we just want someone to seriously investigate it.
 
I was about to give up on that, but it gets interesting at the 2:30 mark.

My only conjecture is that it could be some kind of whirlpool collapsing and subsiding, but I'd need to know a lot more about the river.

Interesting all the same.
 
Why is it assumed to be an animal? It could be just floating debris that got sucked under.

Also, the video editor spelled anomaly wrong. I'm extremely dubious of any "anamoly" that is intended to be hyped or promoted.
 
Who were the professors you mention?
Hey Dave, neither of the professors I talked to want to be identified. They said it would be professional suicide for them to be involved with this type of video. They weren't huge names in academia or anything. I just went to a nearby University to get a professional opinion. I didn't include it in the video, but they also said the way it submereged was similar to a African hippo or an alligator.
 
Why is it assumed to be an animal? It could be just floating debris that got sucked under.

Also, the video editor spelled anomaly wrong. I'm extremely dubious of any "anamoly" that is intended to be hyped or promoted.
Sorry, yeah I know it is misspelled. Hours of putting the footage together and rewriting it over and over could be to blame, but it is mostly just my inability to spell :)
 
I was about to give up on that, but it gets interesting at the 2:30 mark.

My only conjecture is that it could be some kind of whirlpool collapsing and subsiding, but I'd need to know a lot more about the river.

Interesting all the same.
The river isn't what you would call high flow, and meanders more than it flows. That is why I discount log jams and things of that nature. It's also pretty deep at that particular point, so it's hard for me to believe its a log being ripped around by the current.
 
Here is the google map coordinates. 31.864159, -91.573185

I think the great thing about the video is that the anomaly can be measured by anyone. You can use the measurement tool to verify size.
 
So you came here solely to hype a video that you claim is a mysterious animal and won't provide the names of sources who commented on if it's an animal? You certainly do not make a good case.

I'm not wasting my time on this. This is why cryptozoology is a joke.
 
If you say so. I don't think cryptozoology is joke, and anytime you post something like this it is best to have anonymity. Especially if your work is based on credibility. If my sources don't want to be named then I won't name them. All I have done is share the video to generate interest so someone more skilled than an I can conduct an actual investigation.
 
So you came here solely to hype a video that you claim is a mysterious animal and won't provide the names of sources who commented on if it's an animal? You certainly do not make a good case.

I'm not wasting my time on this. This is why cryptozoology is a joke.

With no comment on the phenomena being discussed, I think it's quite understandable that they would ask not to be named.

I also think you should not waste your time publicising the fact that you are not wasting your time on this.
 
Cryptozoology in the mainstream is treated like a joke because of mystery mongering like this. I happen to love the subject but approach it in a different, more serious, multidisciplinary way. It doesn't have to be a joke. But when you make a video like this with an intent to brand the mystery, it reeks of mystery mongering for attention and webhits, even if you believe there is something weird going on.

If you ask for help, you need to have the ducks in lines, so to speak. All we are provided here is a video of a perceived anomaly and claims that someone said it's an unidentified animal. If investigators followed up on every story like this, it would consume our lives. To me, there must be a much stronger foundation for a claim.

Have there been reported sightings of something? Physical evidence or remains? If this video is all you got, you have yet to establish there is any mystery here to solve.
 
... My only conjecture is that it could be some kind of whirlpool collapsing and subsiding, but I'd need to know a lot more about the river....

My first guess would be a transient 'drain hole' resulting from intrusion into, or collapse of, an underlying salt dome structure.

In years past we've seen videos of such collapses beneath standing waters from Louisiana. These generate large whirlpools that can suck down entire trees.

The Tensas River watershed lies above the northern of two extensive salt dome basins in Louisiana. The red circle on the illustration below shows the Tensas River watershed's location.

SaltLocs-US.jpg


Background Map Source: http://www.netl.doe.gov/File Library/Publications/brochures/SaltCav.pdf
 
Cryptozoology in the mainstream is treated like a joke because of mystery mongering like this. I happen to love the subject but approach it in a different, more serious, multidisciplinary way. It doesn't have to be a joke. But when you make a video like this with an intent to brand the mystery, it reeks of mystery mongering for attention and webhits, even if you believe there is something weird going on.

If you ask for help, you need to have the ducks in lines, so to speak. All we are provided here is a video of a perceived anomaly and claims that someone said it's an unidentified animal. If investigators followed up on every story like this, it would consume our lives. To me, there must be a much stronger foundation for a claim.

Have there been reported sightings of something? Physical evidence or remains? If this video is all you got, you have yet to establish there is any mystery here to solve.
Sharon I did what I could, which was analyze the footage to show the size, and bring up the video quality as best I could. I am not an investigator nor am I in a position to investigate further. I think by taking my valuable time to analyze the video and put it out for people to see is more ducks than I care to have. If remains were found there would be no mystery, and the case would be closed. I am presenting a video of something strange in the water. Every theory is still on the table (animal or not), but if people didn't share things like this then there would never be anything for people to follow up on, or investigate further.
 
My first guess would be a transient 'drain hole' resulting from intrusion into, or collapse of, an underlying salt dome structure.

In years past we've seen videos of such collapses beneath standing waters from Louisiana. These generate large whirlpools that can suck down entire trees.

The Tensas River watershed lies above the northern of two extensive salt dome basins in Louisiana. The red circle on the illustration below shows the Tensas River watershed's location.

View attachment 4901

Background Map Source: http://www.netl.doe.gov/File Library/Publications/brochures/SaltCav.pdf
Great post! Adds another element to the discussion.
 
I'm not surprised that your professors couldn't identify the animal as there's no animal to be seen, but there certainly seems to be something. Could possibly be a large fish - alligator gar can get pretty big - I know they're found in Texas, not sure about Louisiana. Not 27 feet though. Nice video, although it cuts off slightly early. You could have maybe got another few seconds as the camera goes over..

According to U S Fish & Wildlife Service, alligators are plentiful in Tensas river..
 
Hunk, I pulled stats for the record alligator gar and record alligator. The gar came in at 8.7 feet and the alligator at 15.6, or there abouts. I also wish there was another 10 seconds of video. What was captured was by accident. I cut about a minute off the beginning of the video. The pilot was recording his flight over a field and was attempting to cut the camera off as he flew over the river. He was fumbling with his remote is the only reason we got the footage we have. He never even saw what was in the water until he got home to review the footage. He said if he would have seen it he would have circled until he ran out of gas.
 
I'm not surprised that your professors couldn't identify the animal as there's no animal to be seen, but there certainly seems to be something. Could possibly be a large fish - alligator gar can get pretty big - I know they're found in Texas, not sure about Louisiana. Not 27 feet though. Nice video, although it cuts off slightly early. You could have maybe got another few seconds as the camera goes over..

According to U S Fish & Wildlife Service, alligators are plentiful in Tensas river..
The two gentlemen I spoke with brought up a paddle fish theory, but decided a tail would have been seen as it submerged.
Tensas is full of spoonbills, but they don't get that large, and I believe the Chinese paddle fish only reaches lengths of 15 feet.
 
That video needs sound.
 
Sharon I did what I could, which was analyze the footage to show the size, and bring up the video quality as best I could. I am not an investigator nor am I in a position to investigate further. I think by taking my valuable time to analyze the video and put it out for people to see is more ducks than I care to have. If remains were found there would be no mystery, and the case would be closed. I am presenting a video of something strange in the water. Every theory is still on the table (animal or not), but if people didn't share things like this then there would never be anything for people to follow up on, or investigate further.
Not quite. You already concluded it was a mystery animal and speculated it was an extreme animal. You have branded the video. Had you brought the raw video with some basic info and a question - what do you think this is? - that would have been more logical (and open-minded, actually). But you jumped to an extreme and unwarranted conclusion right off the top "Unknown animal" that biases anyone who looks at the video. Thus, you've closed off many options including almost certainly the correct one. I'm glad to see others also noting it doesn't have to be an animal.

Similar situations are observed every day and are reported by well-meaning people as mysterious creatures when they are stumps, boat, plastic bags, etc. Witnesses want it to be something much more interesting than what it really is.

I believe that it is the obligation of the person making the claim to do their homework. You spent a lot of time on graphics but, to me, those were rather pointless and makes it appear that you wished to concoct a viral video instead of finding out what the real conclusion is (almost certainly a natural and not headline-grabbing explanation).

Sorry, but my BS detector goes off immediately when presented with dubious claims. I've seen this type of story every day for years and years. (Doubtfulnews.com) No giant alligator (or bigfoot, or lion, or ghost, or alien spaceship) yet, even though people claim they see them every day.

Remember: the simpler explanation is almost ALWAYS the correct one. It's better NOT to assume and close off many reasonable options. That is, if you want the best answer instead of promoting a sensational one.
 
Not quite. You already concluded it was a mystery animal and speculated it was an extreme animal. You have branded the video. Had you brought the raw video with some basic info and a question - what do you think this is? - that would have been more logical (and open-minded, actually). But you jumped to an extreme and unwarranted conclusion right off the top "Unknown animal" that biases anyone who looks at the video. Thus, you've closed off many options including almost certainly the correct one. I'm glad to see others also noting it doesn't have to be an animal.

Similar situations are observed every day and are reported by well-meaning people as mysterious creatures when they are stumps, boat, plastic bags, etc. Witnesses want it to be something much more interesting than what it really is.

I believe that it is the obligation of the person making the claim to do their homework. You spent a lot of time on graphics but, to me, those were rather pointless and makes it appear that you wished to concoct a viral video instead of finding out what the real conclusion is (almost certainly a natural and not headline-grabbing explanation).

Sorry, but my BS detector goes off immediately when presented with dubious claims. I've seen this type of story every day for years and years. (Doubtfulnews.com) No giant alligator (or bigfoot, or lion, or ghost, or alien spaceship) yet, even though people claim they see them every day.

Remember: the simpler explanation is almost ALWAYS the correct one. It's better NOT to assume and close off many reasonable options. That is, if you want the best answer instead of promoting a sensational one.
I also stated all theories were on the table..animal or not...but if Fortean Times isn't the place to post this video then were would be the place? For someone who claimed they would no longer waste their time on this thread you seem to post long winded, pretentious arguments. As such, I will no longer respond to your post.
 
Thanks for sharing .. us Forteans are sceptical by nature so please don't be put off by probing comments .. watching your video link ? .. it showed me a suggested large black mass the seemed to suddenly submerge ..
 
Thanks for sharing .. us Forteans are sceptical by nature so please don't be put off by probing comments .. watching your video link ? .. it showed me a suggested large black mass the seemed to suddenly submerge ..
Thanks for checking it out. As for probing comments it is what is.

Thanks Swifty
 
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Pretentious? Ah, no, Mr. Anonymous. You have posted the video here as an "unidentified animal" and on youtube as a "river monster". It's you who have assumed an unwarranted importance. Hiding your name? Unnamed sources? Video cuts out just after the reveal? How can I take you seriously?

I see the comments on Youtube days ago gave you many other reasonable explanations, like logs. But you seem to wish to ignore that and continue to push the "monster" idea.

Pardon me for saying something you didn't like. But it is an unsupported claim you are promoting. Speaking only as an individual who has researched cryptozoology for a long time, and as a scientist, all clues point to the explanation that you are pulling a fast one to get your video to go viral, to market a monster, and I don't take kindly to be taken for a ride.
 
We seem to have 2 main options - sinkhole or [maybe] large alligator, neither of which are that unusual. It's still an interesting video capture, but nothing immediately anomalous as far as I can see.
 
Actually, I see no creature at all, but a small still eddy in the current, making a very smooth patch on the water. At the beginning of the shot, the spot looks dark, because it is reflecting the tree across the river. As the angle of the camera changes, the reflection changes to the sky, which makes the smooth surface of that particular spot go light.

If it was a large creature suddenly submerging,(quickly enough to create what it seems that people think is white water) where is the wave it would create? In even the few seconds till the plane is directly overhead, there should be ripples spreading out from the disturbance.
 
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