What caused this mysterious 'track' across a cornfield at Loree?

When Buddy Raines set off for Evergreen from his home in the Loree community last Thursday morning, the sharp-eyed 62-year-old spotted something unusual in a cornfield near his home.

At first, he thought that someone had driven a motorcycle across the corn that he’d planted the previous Sunday, but upon closer inspection, he could tell that it was no motorcycle.

“Whatever it was wasn’t so heavy that it mashed into the soft dirt or messed up the rows very much,” Raines said. “Whatever it was, the track wasn’t there during the day on Wednesday. This was done sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.”

Raines wondered if the track may have been left behind by a large snake like the exotic anacondas and pythons that have begun to plague Florida in recent years.

“I saw a show on TV not too long ago where they killed one of those big snakes down there and when they cut him open, they found a deer inside of him,” Raines said. “He was pretty big.”

The track also made Raines think of a giant snake story that circulated for years in the Loree community.

“For years, I’ve heard different folks and my neighbors tell of the time a woman just down the road was in the pea patch and she saw a snake so big that she refused to go back into the field,” Raines said. “She said that the snake was humongous, as big around as her leg. That happened here fifty or sixty years ago.”

The track stretched all the way across the field and was 12 to 13 inches wide. The track was just deep enough to flatten the tops of the furrows in the field. There also appeared to be a line in the tracks that indicated that it may have been caused by an animal with a tail.

Individuals who examined photos of the unusual track offered up a number of theories about what could have been responsible. Animals mentioned included various snakes, alligators, snapping turtles, gopher tortoises, beavers, peacocks and otters. Most felt that the track was not caused by a snake because the track didn’t have the characteristic wavelike pattern associated with snake tracks.

Monroe Journal reporter Josh Dewberry offered up one of the more interesting theories, saying that the track may have been a trail left behind by a passing dust devil. According to the American Meteorological Society, a dust devil is a small, but vigorous whirlwind that are usually harmless.

Monroeville veterinarian Dr. John Grider said that he didn’t believe the track was caused by a turtle or an alligator.

“I wonder if it was something dragging something,” he said. “Like a bobcat dragging its prey.”

The most unusual explanation for the track came from a man who said that it may have been caused by a “chupacabras,” a legendary creature rumored to inhabit parts of Mexico and the U.S., having been reported as far north as Maine. The word “chupacabras” literally means “goat sucker,” and the creature gets its name from its reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats.

Whatever was responsible for the track at Loree, Raines, who is disabled, said he’s prepared to deal with it, especially if it’s a large snake.

“I might not be able to outrun it in my (motorized) chair,” Raines said. “But this .45 I’ve got with a nine-inch barrel should do the trick.”

Individuals with information about what may have caused the track are asked to call The Courant at 251-578-1492 or e-mail courantsports@earthlink.net.