Thomas Earl McKenzie Sr. of Mexia killed ‘mystery animal’ in March 1984

Thomas Earl McKenzie Sr. with 'mystery animal' in 1984.

Last week in this space, readers saw a story about a “strange animal” that Franklin farmer Leo Dees found in a swamp while turkey hunting on April 10, 1948 near the Alabama River, about 2-1/2 miles north of the Franklin community. Dees and others were unable to identify the strange creature, which weighed about 40 pounds and had a head shaped like that of a bear. The incident was so unusual that it merited a front-page story in The Monroe Journal.

Leading up to last week’s story, more than a few readers gave their opinions as to what Dees found on his hunting trip. Some said that it was probably a coyote while others suggested that it might have been a river otter or some similar creature. Others said that it was a “Chupacabra,” a creature that may or may not exist that’s famous for attacking livestock.

One of the more interesting remarks came from Thomas Earl McKenzie Jr., who said the animal found by Dees sounded like the same kind of animal that his father killed in 1984. He described it as a “nasty thing,” and said that they sent it to Auburn University, where experts there were unable to identify it. He said that the animal had been eating his father’s calves on Drewry Road.

On Friday, I did a deep dive into The Journals that were published in 1984 and found the story about McKenzie’s creature. Published in the March 15, 1984 edition of The Journal and written by Mike Qualls, the story said that Thomas Earl McKenzie Sr. of Mexia was inspecting his cattle on March 12, 1984 when he saw a pack of about eight “dogs” taunting several of the cattle, which were located on Fred Sheffield’s farm about a mile outside Monroeville.

The pack had about 15 cattle surrounded when he arrived, and McKenzie took a shot at the “dog” that appeared to the be the leader of the pack. The pack dispersed when he killed the animal, allowing McKenzie to get a closer look at the creature. McKenzie described the animal as “jet-black” with features that resembled a wolf or coyote. The animal weighed between 80 and 85 pounds.

McKenzie took the animal to Monroeville pharmacist Dickie Williams, who was a delegate to the National Wildlife Federation, in hopes that Williams could identify it. Williams wasn’t sure what the animal was and arranged to have it sent to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for identification. They, in turn, sent it to a lab for identification and apparently, they too were unable to do so.

In the end, it would be interesting to know if any other readers have any other ideas about what these animals could have been. It would also be interesting to know if anyone in the reading audience has had similar experiences with animals they couldn’t identify. These types of situations may be more common than we realize once we take a closer look.