Do You Know The Goatman?

           On April 17^th, my group and I hiked the Margaret Parker Memorial Trail, which is located on the historical Greer Island. The trail is approximately 1.5 miles long and consists of sandy terrain with shores to Lake Worth on one side and the pretty green vegetation of the island on the other. This island has been a been a space for the Fort Worth community to enjoy the outdoors for over 60 years. In 1964, the Greer Island Nature Center was created by the partnership between the Fort Worth Audubon Society and the City of Fort Worth as a place for the community to learn about and immerse themselves in nature. Over time, the Greer Island Nature Center acquired more land, and in 1972 it became the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge. As we hiked this trail, we were able to see some of the remaining architecture from the original Audubon Nature Trail. This hike was so unique compared to the other ones we did this semester because the trail took us all around the island. There were parts of the trail we were able to walk up right to the water and enjoy the breeze. One super exciting thing we saw was a tree that had lost some of it bark, and revealed a design made from insects, probably ants, living underneath the bark. It was so intricate and made the tree look like a piece of art.

           Along with a beautiful trail to hike, Greer Island has a legendary monster attached to its history. According the FWNC&R’s website, “Fort Worth locals reported sighting a hairy, tall man-goat-beast on the Refuge in 1969.” Allegedly, Goatman is at least 7-feet tall, is covered in fur and scales, and has super strength. The first sighting of Goatman occurred when two men were driving around Greer Island and the monster jumped on the hood of a man’s car. The first photograph of Goatman was taken in 1969 and is one of the few pictures we have of the monster. Many people believe Goatman is just someone playing a prank, but the FWNC&R does not have a stance of the legitimacy of this legend and throws a Lake Worth Monster Bash to celebrate the monster. Sadly, we did not see the Goatman in the flesh on our hike, but I passed by some suspiciously snapped trees. So, who knows, he could still be out there!