Did Circus Animals Really Escape Into a Louisiana's Swamp?

Lafayette, Louisiana (KPEL) - In the early 1920s, allegedly there was a train derailment in Louisiana in the area of the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish.

Legend has it that several exotic animals escaped into the swamp including chimpanzees, orangutans, and possibly even gorillas.

Is there any truth behind this Louisiana legend, and if it's true, could this be what started the legend of the Honey Island Swamp Monster?

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Unsplash Via Morgane Perraud

Circus Animals Escape Into Louisiana Swamp

We have a lot of tales and legends in Louisiana, and sometimes it's hard to figure out which ones might actually have some truth to them.

One of the famous Louisiana legends is of course the Honey Island Swamp Monster.

When you do a little digging, it seems the Honey Island Swamp Monster legend could actually have some truth behind it, depending on the validity of another, separate Louisiana legend.

That separate legend has to do with a fabled circus train derailment near the edge of the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish.

According to the story, numerous circus animals escaped into the Honey Island Swamp as a result of the train wreck.

Unsplash Via Joshua J. Cotten

Although it's not documented exactly what animals escaped into the swamp or how many, it's generally believed that several chimpanzees and orangutans made a break for it and disappeared into the swamps of St. Tammany Parish.

It's also said that more than one gorilla could have escaped into the Honey Island Swamp.

As the legend goes, over time the escaped circus animals adapted to Louisiana's swamp lands.

From cryptidz.fandom.com -

"Some variations of the story suggest even more fantastical origins, such as the escaped chimpanzees mating with alligators, resulting in a hybrid creature with both primate and reptilian features.

This version, while biologically implausible, adds to the mystique and allure of the legend."

Unsplash Via Richard Burlton

These animals supposedly adapted to the swamp over time, surviving and possibly breeding with native wildlife.

The result? A new species or hybrid creature, the Honey Island Swamp Monster, described as having ape-like features and webbed toes.

But, was there ever really a circus train derailment in St. Tammany Parish where circus animals escaped into the Honey Island Swamp?

There's a website, circusesandsideshows.com, that has documented every U.S. circus train crash dating all the way back to 1877.

After looking at the entire list, there doesn't appear to have ever been a circus train crash in Louisiana.

If it happened, this website doesn't have any information about it.

Unsplash Via Denis Chick

If the circus train crash were true and several monkeys and gorillas escaped into the swamp, it could certainly explain the Louisiana Honey Island Swamp Monster legend.

However, at this point, it seems the train crash is just another of Louisiana's many legends.