The White Monsters of Sherman

 The White Monsters of Sherman

By Cole Herrold

The existence of cryptids is often backed up by their appearance to animals that dwelled on planet earth at one point or another. The Mokele-Mbembe, for example, bears a striking resemblance to sauropod-type dinosaurs. Lake monsters and sea serpents from around the globe have been reported to look like a variety of prehistoric marine reptiles like the Plesiosaur and Mosasaur. These creatures, however, are millions of years older than the menagerie of beasts that existed during the Cenozoic era. These animals are similar in many respects to the animals we have now, but many of them look like the kaiju equivalents. Woolly mammoths, for example, were giant hairy elephant-like creatures seen in North America and Siberia. Glyptodons, giant armadillos with tails covered in spikes, and woolly rhinoceros graced the plains of this era of history, and so too did giant sloths. 

Ground sloths have always been one of my favorite prehistoric animals. The idea of these bucolic animals frolicking around was something that enchanted my imagination reading books on prehistoric life. I had always wanted to see one in the flesh and, of course, be tempted to ride it like a big horse.  However, in the world of cryptozoology, there are many reports of still surviving giant ground sloths. Most come from the dense jungles of South and Central America, where tales of the Mapinguari are heard. The Mapinguari, I must note, is a mixed bag of reports. Some indicate a bigfoot-like creature, whereas others report a cycloptic one-legged beast with a mouth in its stomach or chest and, of course, the noble giant ground sloth. These slothier accounts describe a creature with long reddish-brown fur, mane-like hair that stretches down its back, eats palm hearts and berries, has a terrible odor, a loud roar or cry, and biologically enough travels with other of the indigenous animal species. One account described in George M Eberhart’s book Mysterious Creatures A Guide to Cryptozoology: Volume One describes an encounter where members of an indigenous tribe raised two baby Mapinguaris on bananas and milk, but after approximately two years of tender love and care, the creatures smell became too terrible for the tribe and the albeit adorable creatures were released back into the dark jungles of the Rio Jurua Valley. Yet South and Central America is not the only location where these creatures are supposed to dwell.

In the town of Sherman, New York, a series of encounters occurred. The witness of these events wrote of them to internationally famous Fortean researcher John Keel of what was described as giant ground sloths. The interesting thing about the encounter is that the aforementioned beasts were not just relics from another time but also a stark bright white color. The encounters began in 1965-1966 by an unnamed fifteen-year-old young man who started seeing these creatures near his home. The creatures he claimed lived in the swampy regions around his house and proceeded to wander around his property, not unlike the way deer and other natural residents do. On one occasion, a particular creature meandered its way into his yard, and he got the best and most accurate description he could see. He described it thusly "It stands between twelve and eighteen feet high, it has a long tail between six to eight feet long. It is all covered in hair. They are always white. I have seen them alone or two at a time. It can walk on two feet or four feet. It is almost a double for a prehistoric sloth.”. These encounters continued into the seventies and hopefully as well as possible to this day. The letter ends with not only an assertion that the animals that have been plaguing the property do exist but also that other members of his family and residents in the area have supposedly seen these white enigmas. Any further examples of cases, however, are yet to be cataloged.

This account officially published in Keel’s book The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings is often overlooked by researchers for some reason. Maybe I am biased because of my love of ground sloths, but I feel this particular case is one that needs further investigation. Possibly a trip I would not mind doing myself. The letter’s short-to-the-point style is something that to me personally stings with a note of authenticity. If someone were attempting to hoax or fake an encounter with a creature via letter, why wouldn't you have the creature do something incredible like attack livestock or wreck a portion of your house. An interesting patina is also the choice of creature sighted being a ground sloth. If this were a hoax, why would you not choose something either more exotic like a dinosaur or more well-known like a mammoth? True, the ambiguous writer is something that would raise a skeptical eyebrow, but as with most cases, eyewitnesses tend to want to stay anonymous to avoid ridicule or save their reputation.

While certainly, skeptics can poke holes into this account. Suppose we take the encounters seriously, what could possibly be the answer to this mystery. The most obvious answer is a giant sloth with albinism, yet how does something that large hide in the swampy sections of New York. These creatures surely would be seen more frequently if the woodlands were inhabited by bright white giant ground sloths.

 It is a common habit of ground sloths, particularly those in South America, to be amazing burrowers. They live in amazing hand, or should I say claw, made structures that appear as little nooks or caves. The nests of these pastoral giants would be an ideal place for these creatures to hide out. If the species adapted to digging into the ground and building tunnels not unlike those of a mole or beaver, the chances of these animals staying hidden are increased.

  Yet another possibility is that these creatures are semi-aquatic, seeing as they come out of swampy terrain. One particular kind of ground sloth called Thalassocnus that lived along the Peruvian coast had evolved to be able to graze on the aquatic vegetation that grew in the shallower waters of the coast. This species, though, has only been found in South America, so the possibility of it traveling up the coast to North America is very slim.  Yet the idea does stand that a species of sloth could have slowly begun the transition to become more aquatic like its southern cousins. This could explain why there are sightings but very few. If these animals spend most of their time in the deeper water of the swamps living or behaving like hippos or capybaras, there is always the chance of them going unnoticed by the majority of people.

While surely there are possibilities of these prehistoric relics existing in burrows or even wallowing in the water like manatees blending into their surroundings. It still raises the question, well, if they are ground sloths, what species could they be, and how and why are they currently seen in a small town in New York?

Giant sloths or giant ground sloths were a group of Xenarthra species that were around during this time throughout both North and South America. The animals were believed to of gone extinct a mere 10,000 years ago. Ground Sloths evolved in South America after the continent separated from Africa. The separation and isolation led to South America being a unique place for a variety of large animals to evolve and exist. Later on, North America and South America would connect via the Isthmus of Panama. This connection resulted in a flooding of animals changing location. Ground sloths used this route to move up to North America and, in turn, proceeded to diversify into several different species. Yet even before the land connection, ground sloths had made it to North America. These pastoral creatures had "island-hopped" around in the Caribbean, yet the species that achieved this were some of the smaller varieties. The larger ones, either not looking for an island getaway or simply too large to travel the distances, proceeded to have to wait for the borders between the North and South to connect.

 Humans arrived in North America via the land bridge which connected Siberia and Alaska around 13,000 years ago. There has been extensive evidence that humans have hunted ground sloths during the beginning of their interaction. Some researchers have even gone so far as to say that man is directly responsible for the end of these magnificent beasts. This idea is primarily that from the short span of time that occurred when man and these creatures interacted. In a matter of 3,000 years, all members of these rustic species had supposedly vanished from the planet as a direct result of human confrontation. There is even some evidence in the forms of a major butchering cite that the animals were, in fact, targeted by man for their needs and uses.

When discussing the fall of the megafauna that existed during this time, many believe humans even back then were among the main reasons for their extinction, but what if that wasn't the case? During those times, technology was extremely limited to handcrafted tools, and the effect they had on the environment was exceedingly small compared to what we do now. How can a hypothesis like this be so bold as to say we got them all? In fact, the slaughter site mentioned previously had bones that were much younger than when these animals were supposed to have gone extinct, ranging anywhere between 9,700 and 6,750 years old. This, in effect, proves that the sloths lived longer than generally accepted by science.  True, there are alternative theories that, in combination, could have resulted in the mass extinction, but it does not explain why people to this day report seeing these creatures in their old stomping grounds. Could it be that the sloths did live even further than what we even recently discovered? If So, who would be the ideal candidate for what was seen in Sherman?

Giant ground sloths, particularly Megatherium, could reach an absurd length of 20ft from head to tail. The few sites that feature the Sherman creature often cite this as the most likely candidate. I personally have several problems with this. For one, if you conservatively take the size of the creatures seen in Sherman, assuming they are adults, they dwarf them. If you take the maximum range of 18ft, which romantically I can see why someone would choose to do so, only then would it fit into the Megatherium category. Megatherium is perhaps the most famous member of the giant ground sloth clan, hence why I think when people do sincerely look at the Sherman Beast case, they conclude it to be a variety of Megatherium, yet even still, fossil evidence shows that these creatures dwelled only in South America. So, unless some managed to migrate up north and set up camp in the United States, it is doubtful that they are what's being reported.

Mylodon is another South American ground sloth species that needs to throw its hat into the ring for a possible answer to the Sherman creatures' mystery. The Mylodon was a unique ground sloth species described in color and fur quality as similar to other ground sloths of the area. The animals were smaller than their giant cousins, the Megatherium reaching a height and length of approximately ten feet, yet the interesting thing about these animals is not what is seen but usually what is unseen. Mylodons had a form of protective armor under their fur called osteoderms. Osteoderms are essentially bony specks that grow on the back, thighs, and shoulders enact as a kind of armor for animals. In Karl Shuker’s book In Search of Prehistoric Survivors, he describes an account with a giant sloth that appeared bulletproof. He hypothesizes that this account, which is one of the more famous surviving ground sloth cases, is possibly evidence of Mylodon, seeing as their protective osteoderms might, in fact, protect them from certain kinds of firearms, giving them an almost impervious quality to them. Yet as for their connection to the albino beasts seen in New York, they still don't fill the bill seeing as the Mylodon only reportedly managed to make it to Chile and Argentina.

Eremotherium is another incredible giant ground sloth, but this time these species managed to make their way up to North America and are a lot closer than Megatherium to being the possible answer to the Sherman creature mystery. Eremotherium was almost a rival when it came to size against Megatherium, the most gigantic giant ground sloth. Like Megatherium, they could reach lengths/ heights of twenty feet, making them an incredible sight to behold. These animals had a range initially believed to be of Florida. Yet, fossils have been found all the way up to North Carolina as though these descended pilgrims from Central America were still on the move northwards. Could it be that these species had managed to stretch even higher up into the continental United States and decided to nestle snug into the tiny town of Sherman? It seems possible yet still unlikely, but there is always another possibility.

The Megalonyx, another giant ground sloth, is the best bet for the ground sloth hypothesis. These animals existed in North and Central America. They could reach lengths of about 10 ft and, much like their larger cousins in South America, could rear up on their back legs to eat vegetation using their stubby tails as a kind of kickstand. However, the problem with this hypothesis is that the ground sloths seen in Sherman are gigantic compared to the Megalonyx.

A Canadian cryptid also believed to be a Megalonyx-type ground sloth also bears some resemblance and stark differences to the creatures seen in Sherman. The Yukon Beaver Eater, or as it is referred to by native tribes, the Saytoechin, is a large dark brown creature reported to live in the mountains of Frenchman Lake in the Yukon. This animal is described very much like the typical ground sloth, a large brown quadrupedal animal that can rear itself upright. It is larger than the biggest Grizzlies the locals claim, and the creature has a habit that led to its alternative name. Interestingly enough, this creature will attack beaver lodges and, using its large claws, will proceed to lift them up to attack the structure and its semiaquatic inhabitants—this, of course, results in a large meal for this unknown predator. There are two sightings of the creature from the 80s and 90s aside from the countless years of tales that the indigenous people have encountered the beast. The main sightings come from Dawn Charlie, who described a large creature coming from the tree line. The animal approached or charged depending on interpretation, and Dawn's family proceeded in running away from the beast, not without a relative firing several shots at the creature. Whether the animal was hit is undetermined and would be an interesting footnote, especially knowing some species had osteoderms. Yet, that detail remains lost to history.

Interestingly enough, we do not Megalonyx fossils have been found in the Yukon. In fact, in the Old Crow Basin, there have been approximately twenty-two specimens discovered. So, there is at least at one-point evidence of these animals existing where the Beaver Eater has been sited. The only problem is that based on the current scientific ruling, the animal should be extinct.

The Beaver Eater, if the same species as the Sherman Beast, brings to mind, of course, the topic of diet. The Beaver Eater is described as a carnivore, the South and Central American creatures are described as herbivores. There is a hypothesis that ground sloths potentially did hunt prey aside from chow on leaves and veg. The hypothesis was written about by Dr. Richard Fariña and Dr. Ernesto Blanco and was based on studying the olecranon, which is the portion of the elbow to which the triceps connects to the arm of giant ground sloths. In several fossil specimens, they discovered that this feature is shorter than what an herbivore typically has. In carnivores, this feature is common for it helps with reaching faster speeds. They hypothesized that this would help ground sloths in attacking Glyptodons or other megafauna as well as bully other predators from their food. A documentary called Walking with Prehistoric Beasts focused on this hypothesis in the ground sloth's brief appearance by showing one killing a saber-tooth cat that was blocking a newly killed corpse.

Now, this hypothesis, while interesting, does not hold water with a lot of the ground sloth dung found in caves. The dung in caves, when analyzed, has shown more of a vegetarian type diet and never any carnivorous type of fecal remains. Even with that said, it is not uncommon for animals to replenish their diets by scavenging or eating meat. Animals typically seen as herbivores like deer or cows, for example, have, depending on the situation, eaten a dead carcass. True, these animals do not actively hunt for their prey like the Beaver Eater is supposed to. Still, it is not outside the realm for something we genuinely associate with being a sure way to behave entirely different. It could be that to survive in the modern Yukon, a species of Megalonyx adapted to be more omnivorous than its southern relatives. While all this is undoubtedly conjectured, what does it say about the Sherman Beasts? If they are ground sloths, they would most like fully be herbivorous or omnivorous, and living in a swamp would seem to point to the latter. The amount of game that appears in a swamp and the wild plants would be a buffet for something as big as a ground sloth and would be one of the ideal habitats for a region-specific variety.     

While I have stated that the creatures' size does not match with the fossil specimens that have been acquired over the years, this does not necessarily mean that these animals are not surviving Megalonyx or Megatherium. Humans are notoriously bad eyewitnesses if there is not an object of scale. We see this time and time again in supposed videos of proposed black panthers or melanistic mountain lions. Often times in these accounts, the creatures turn out to be average-sized house cats but because of color and distance appear much more extensive than what they are. We could hypothetically be seeing something similar in this particular case. The animals being extremely white could seem much bigger than what they actually were and while there are multiple creatures to account for 12-18ft for just one is a big jump in size. While the witness being young at the time probably did not think of measuring trees the creature passed or if the animal were near the house how high the beast was to get an accurate scale of the creature and gave his best estimate to how tall the creature could have been in respect to his ability to do so. Yet as with most cases of the unknown, we have to go with the accounts given, so assuming the size is correct, there are some other possibilities for how a Megalonyx could grow to be almost as large as its southern cousins.

Evolution is a fickle beast and something that most people accept as the actual way species arise. The development of a new species or for a species to adapt to a new location can take thousands to millions of years, and small features and traits help better the animals to survive to eventually be more prosperous in their new homes. Ground sloths historically are the best survivors of the megafauna world, arguably only rivaled or in some cases surpassed by Mammoths. There are several unique adaptations that some members of the ground sloth family have acquired depending on the species. Some sloths developed osteoderms, which is a form of almost armor that grows in the skin, helping to protect the animals from attacks. Some ground sloths were semi-aquatic and behaved much like diving moose or otters eating vegetation on the bottom. In many ways, the ground sloth was the species that tried it all from being burrowers, aquatic, armored tanks, and grazers. As time went on, many of these species got bigger and bigger to help deal with being hunted by predators and, of course, the lack of predation in some areas. Suppose a surviving population of Megalonyx did make its way to living in New York. In that case, it is possible that either through evolution or even merely a random mutation like gigantism could have occurred, making these animals larger than what we know from the fossil record.

Another possibility for the larger size is that this is not actually an increased size. Many times, in the animal kingdom, there is what is referred to as a geographic variation of a species. In this aspect, animals of the same species can be smaller or larger because of the geographic conditions required for the animal to survive in that given location. Differences can appear as skin, feather, and fur color and size, and these differences affect all the different sexes and age cycles of the species. Modern-day female sloths, because of sexual dimorphism; a kind of variation of the species, are much larger than the males, and there are some arguments with the ground sloths as to whether the male or the female would be larger since in most cases, specifically in mammals the males tend to be larger than the females. However, with fossils, determining an organism's sex can be extremely difficult, making decisions like sexual dimorphism or even whether the species is, in fact, a juvenile or not almost at times impossible.

While size can be explained away by evolution and mutation for these creatures, another feature that does not point to a ground sloth is the tail. The tail reported is six to eight feet in length that are almost half of the creature's conservative size and not what is seen with fossil skeletons. It could be possible that just like the size being misjudged, the tail length could also be. Another possibility is that the length seems longer because of hair. A lot of times, animals are extensively hairy. This makes them seem bigger or bulkier than they are muscle and bone wise.  It could be possible that the tail of the giant ground sloth, in fact, appears larger due to all the excessive hair. Yet if we are to go of this report at face value, this cannot be a ground sloth.

The Sherman beast is slightly different compared to other cryptids, which tend to clearly be giant ground sloths. In George M. Eberhart's massively resourceful tomes, Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology, he discusses in detail the obscure creature the Ellengassen of Patagonia, which was an animal described as large as a bull with long hair. The main report of evidence left by an Ellengassen is a footprint described as a clog with two blades like shapes. This footprint was discovered in 1898. The print is similar to that of how a giant sloth's foot would be. The creature had a range of vocalizations from roars to howls, which possibly led to another alternative name, which was "Lobo-Toro," which translates unsurprisingly enough as "wolf bull." These creatures are reportedly herbivorous and live in the caves of Argentina. Locals also have said that much like the Mapinguari, the only weak spot on the Ellengassen is the stomach region. Karl Shuker, in his book In Search of Prehistoric Survivors, tends to lump this creature with a surviving Mylodon type animals because of this feature seeing as osteoderms tend to only grow on the back, thighs, and shoulders, making the head and stomach region the only "weak spot" for these beasts.

Another account described in George M. Eberhart’s encyclopedia is of a single account that occurred in Ecuador during the 1980s. Under his entry the Ecuadorean Ground Sloth, he described the creature as 10ft long covered in long hair with a horse-like snout. The animal reported unsurprisingly walked on four legs but could rear up on two, which is a well-known sloth behavior. The interesting aspect of this account is the size. A smaller specimen would be more likely to of survived the mass extinction as opposed to the colossal giants that were the Megatherium. While they tend to be the go-to sloths for many South American cases, they are not the only ones living in South America.

Interestingly enough, there are reports of creatures primarily from West Virginia and Kentucky that bear some resemblance to the mysterious beasts seen in Sherman. These creatures are called Sheepsquatch and the White Things. Now, these are two separate creatures that are possibly related but have strong indicators of being separate species. Sheepsquatch is a bipedal creature described as having a sheep like face with long curved horns like a ram, pointed fangs, large hands with long claws, and in some cases, a tail much like that of an opossum. This creature is often cited as aggressive and has chased individuals out of wooded locations.  The White Things, however, are more esoteric. While appearing similar to Sheepsquatch in color, size, and features, the creatures are very different. White Things tend to be mostly quadrupedal creatures that are extremely aggressive. There is an air of the supernatural with this particular creature, which, much like the Washington DC Demon Cat, some reports claim that the creature lunges towards or on victims only to disappear. The White Thing also is wary of graveyards in some cases as though it cannot walk on the hallowed ground.

In contrast, in other accounts where they are seen in graveyards, they appear as a form of death omen, which adds to these creatures' already abundant supernatural lore. While these creatures have been growing in popularity, especially in recent years with the inclusion of the Sheepsquatch to Fallout 76 and several appearances on shows like Mountain Monsters and Monsters and Mysteries in America. They do tend to be some of the more esoteric and fringe type creatures in the world of cryptozoology.

While Sheepsquatch and the White Thing do have many hallmark features similar to what was seen in Sherman, there are some extreme differences. Sheepsquatch, according to reports, tends to be about 6ft-8ft tall, and the White Thing is around the size of a bear. This is small compared to the 12-18ft giants seen in Sherman. Another differing feature is also the fact that the Sherman beasts do not have horns, which is something reported in almost all White Thing and Sheepsquatch accounts. Another thing is the lack of sheep-like or carnivorous qualities that the Sherman creature has. The witness is sure that the creatures seen on his lawn were something more akin to a sloth-like creature than some chimeral beast. Another factor is that Sheepsquatch and White Things are extremely aggressive compared to what we know or can glean from the account written about. The Sherman creatures also appear to be non-supernatural entities for their behavior, at least from what is described seems to simply be an animal.

While the animal hypothesis is the most logical, whether it be a relict specimen or descendent from a Megatherium or Megalonyx line, there is one other option that ventures even more on the mysterious. There are countless cryptid animals reported, yet as researchers, we are no closer to observe or verify the existence of these creatures. With this other Fortean type, research has to be referenced with cases like this even though they are highly unlikely.

One such possibility is that of a spectral animal. If they did go extinct 10,000 years ago, the ground sloths are long gone, yet still, people report seeing them all over the Americas. Could it be that what they are seeing is the spirits or spectral remnants either intelligent or replayed through the environment? It seems unlikely, yet it could explain why there are few reports of these particular creatures in Sherman as well as the stereotypical spectral color. Spectral research into extinct species is something entirely unstudied since, unlike the ghosts of people or even animals, how can you verify that these animals are not flesh and blood? With human ghosts, there's usually a figure that is either amorphous or defined enough to look or at least be recognized from someone deceased or someone from another time. Animal spirits are an entirely mixed bag and can even be connected to other phenomena that are even more difficult to accept or study, such as supernatural entities like Skinwalkers, faerie folk, witchcraft, demonology, and even in the rare cases, extraterrestrial visitations. Yet as stated earlier, the chance for these creatures to be spectral in origin is slim.

This idea, while it needs to be mentioned, is unlikely. The animals seen in this case seem to behave and be solid. While spectral animals and spirits, in general, have appeared solid in many cases, it seems unlikely that these animals would be of a spectral nature. The observers who encountered these creatures truly got the impression, at least from the information given, that these creatures were of a physical sense. If there were something overtly supernatural about these creatures, it would have been stated in the letter. Still, the letter does not once mention the animals dematerializing, or being see-through, or having any features that would make it seem otherworldly in any sense.

Another even more unlikely possibility is these animals are from another dimension. For if time and space are simultaneous that when these animals are sighted, we are actually seeing a window into another time and that these animals are flesh and blood, but sort of by some cosmic shift dropped in and out to interact with our world briefly. While there is in String Theory the idea of multiple parallel universes, it is extremely unlikely that this is what was sighted. There are many more interesting cases that seem to indicate some unique phenomenon that might-might being the keyword lend credence to this kind of window or shift in reality. Yet, in this particular case, I do not think this is what occurred. These creatures were seen for an extended period of time and not the kind of one- or two-time encounter that could lead to this being a heavier contender for the answer to this riddle.

With that said, we're still left with unanswered questions, and the only hypothesis that still holds strong is that of the giant ground sloth. The fact that we shared our planet with a host of incredible creatures in fact enough. We still need to remember that there are sections of our planet we have yet to traverse. We are a small hive of a species that still has not tapped the mysteries of the forests and mountains completely. With sightings of similar creatures in Canada and Central and South America still continuing of similar creatures, it is always possible that small herds or even lone pairs of this yet to be discovered or should I say rediscovered species could still be lurking in the deep pine areas and dark jungles of the joined continents.  Whether this is some descendent from or surviving members of the Megalonyx clan or possibly a mutated variety is anyone's guess.  While even this hypothesis is problematic for the reasons already stated, it is certainly not outside the realm of possibilities that a sparse few have survived and live in the North American wilderness, hopefully, for a long and peaceful time.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal (most likely a Megalonyx)

Location: Sherman, New York

Sighted: 1965-1966

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“Megalonyx” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. December 14, 2020.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalonyx. Accessed December 13, 2020.

“Megatheriidae” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. December 8, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megatheriidae. Accessed December 12, 2020.

‘Mylodon” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. December 13, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylodon. Accessed December 14, 2020.

“Eremotherium” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. November 18, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eremotherium. Accessed December 13, 2020.

“Great American Interchange” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. December 4, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_Interchange. Accessed December 13, 2020.

Walking With Prehistoric Beasts. DVD. Directed By Jasper James and Nigel Paterson, Narrated By. Kenneth Branagh, Stockard Channing, Christian Slater.  BBC. 2001.