Skunk ape

Skunk Ape

A photograph alleged to depict a skunk ape in Florida, taken by David Shealy in 1998
Similar entities	Bigfoot Yeti Yeren Almas Yowie
Folklore	Cryptid
Country	United States
Region	Southeastern United States

The skunk ape, also known as the swamp ape^[1] and Florida Bigfoot,^[2] is a purported ape-like creature that is said to inhabit the forests and swamps of some southeastern United States,^[3] most notably in Florida.^[4][5]

Like Bigfoot, a prominent subject within American folklore, supposed evidence of the creature's existence is based on a number of anecdotal sightings as well as disputed photographs, audio and video recordings, and footprints.^[6] The majority of mainstream scientists have historically discounted the existence of the Skunk ape, considering it to be the result of a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, rather than a living animal.^[7] The Skunk ape has permeated into the popular culture of the southern United States, especially in Florida.^[8]

Description[]

The Skunk ape is commonly described as a bipedal ape-like creature, approximately 1.5–2.1 metres (5–7 ft) tall, and covered in mottled reddish-brown hair.^[9] The Skunk ape is often reported to be smaller in stature compared to traditional descriptions of Bigfoot from the northern U.S. and Canada.^[10] It is named for its foul odor, often described as being similar to a skunk.^[11]

History[]

The Skunk ape has been a part of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama folklore since the European settler period.^[12] Additionally, Seminole culture includes stories of a foul-smelling, physically powerful, and secretive creature called Esti Capcaki, a name which roughly translates as "cannibal giant".^[13]

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization has archived 333 sightings in Florida, with an additional 137 from Georgia and 100 from Alabama. Most sightings reported ranged from the 1960s into the modern day, though folklore of ape-like creatures has existed in the region for longer.^[14] More reports have been catalogued in local newspapers such as in 1818, when a report from what is now Apalachicola, Florida, spoke of a man-sized monkey raiding food stores and stalking fishermen along the shore.^[15] In 1942, a man in Suwanee County reported a similar creature rushing out from the brush line while he was driving down an isolated road. It was alleged to have grabbed onto his vehicle and beat on the running board and door for half a mile before departing.^[16]

In the small community of Bardin, in Putnam County, Florida, beginning in the 1940s, there were a number of alleged sightings of a creature that came to be known as the Bardin Booger.^[17] Reports of the Skunk ape were particularly common in the 1950s into the 1970s. By 1974, sightings of a large, foul-smelling, hairy, ape-like creature, which ran upright on two legs were reported in suburban neighborhoods of Miami-Dade County that border large wilderness expanses such as the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve. Several notable sightings occurred in the 1970s, including a corroborated account by two Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies named Marvin Lewis and Ernie Milner. They reported that a tall, ape-like animal stalked them through a grove before it was fired upon to ward it off. Following a footprint trail, the pair recovered hair snagged on a barbwire fence line that had been pushed down.^[18]

In 1977, after a rash of sightings by dozens of eyewitnesses across several Florida counties, a failed-to-pass bill was proposed to the state legislature to make it illegal to "take, possess, harm or molest anthropoids or humanoid animals".^[19] More reports continued into the 1980s, including a report where a college psychology teacher sighted an upright, ape-like animal with what was reported with "non-human body language and movements" in Alachua County, Florida.^[20]

Alleged photograph of a Skunk ape taken by Ochopee Fire Control District Chief, Vince Doerr in 1997 (edited by Smithsonian Magazine to encircle subject).

Sightings became more common again in the 1990s, many by motorists going down various rural roads that ran through the Big Cypress National Preserve. Several reports were made by wildlife tour bus operators, many times with multiple guests corroborating the sighting of an upright creature darting across the road or moving from the tall grasses into the cypress forests.^[21] In July of 1997, David Shealy, the operator of a local wildlife center and tour group who had heard stories of the Skunk ape in his youth, noticed wildlife bait stands laden with lima bean had been raided with a large number of tracks around them. He baited several locations along the preserve during a time of high waters driving many large animals to drier land. Shealy and some associates reported sightings soon after, with two tour group reports occurring within days of each other.^[22] Everglades Day Safari tour operators Steve Goodbread and Dow Rowland reported separate instances of seeing the creature roaming the area of Turner Road, statements corroborated by their attending safari guests. In both instances the creature was sighted for several minutes at a time. Both were skeptical of it being a hoax as the operators were well familiar with wildlife and cited the over 100 °F (38 °C) weather, high humidity, and rural location would make a hoax unfeasible.^[23] One of the first pictures of the alleged Skunk ape was photographed days later by then Ochopee Fire Control District Chief, Vince Doerr. After sighting the creature moving across a road, Doerr stopped his car and observed it walking off into the cypresses. Having a camera on hand, he snapped a photograph of a large, rusty colored figure walking away from him. In total, within two weeks upwards of fifty persons reported seeing an animal with a consistent description within a 10-mile stretch of the Big Cypress National Preserve.^[24]

Sightings have continued into current years. In 2015, a video taken by a kayaker named Matthew McKamey at the Lettuce Lake Park in Hillsborough County, Florida, shows an upright, ape-like creature wading through a cypress marsh. The movements and hair of the creature were remarked as realistic and the location would have made a hoax difficult. However, frequent reviewer of supposed Bigfoot and UFO footage, Ben Hansen, remarked that the sighting happened shortly after a known Skunk ape hoax in nearby Tampa Bay and could be a copycat. The quality was deemed insufficient to prove or disprove the footage as an actor in a suit.^[25]

Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell has written that some of the reports may represent sightings of the black bear (Ursus americanus) and it is likely that other sightings are hoaxes or misidentification of wildlife. It is notable that bears with mange often appear very different than a bear would be expected to look.^[26] The United States National Park Service considers the skunk ape to be a hoax.^[27]

In popular culture[]

The skunk ape has been widely adopted across South and Central Florida as a mascot for the Florida wilderness and rural culture. The cryptid has appeared in numerous roadside businesses and attractions, television commercials, and signs.^[28] During the COVID-19 pandemic, several Florida businesses have used the Skunk Ape's reported foul smell giving incentive to remain at a distance and evasive nature to promote social distancing.^[29]

See also[]

• Fouke Monster
• Honey Island Swamp monster

References[]

Further reading[]

• Stromberg, Joseph (March 6, 2014). "On the Trail of Florida's Bigfoot—the Skunk Ape". Smithsonian. Retrieved 18 August 2016.