The Skunk Ape is a hominid cryptid - an upright standing, hairy, ape like creature which comes with its own nasty smelling fragrance.
Because of this it is also known as the Stink Ape.
Reported mostly around Florida swamps, it has also been spotted in surrounding states.
Because of this it is also known as the Stink Ape.
Reported mostly around Florida swamps, it has also been spotted in surrounding states.
Skunk Ape / Stink Ape
One of the two pictures from Myakka State Park. On December 22nd, 2000, police officers in Sarasota County in Florida received an envelope containing a letter and two photographs from an anonymous woman who claimed that an orangutan had been stealing apples from her back porch. She suspected the creature had escaped a zoo and was roaming the nearby Myakka State Park. The photographs attached with the letter showed what appeared to be a large, dark ape-like creature, baring its teeth at the camera. After the images became public knowledge, cryptid enthusiasts and some researchers cited that the pictures were evidence of the Skunk Ape, a creature that been seen by many since the 1920's, and was the southern counterpart to Bigfoot.
This creature is said to be half man, half ape and is often called the Skunk Ape due to the fact many eyewitnesses report a strange odour, similar to rotting eggs or sulphur, coming from it. In most cases it is dark haired and has glowing red eyes, however some have reported a creature with red stringy hair. Like Bigfoot, the creature is said to be larger and taller than an average human male, however Bigfoot is said to be significantly bigger than the Skunk Ape. Also, like Bigfoot, tracks have been found in many cases, some thirteen inches long.
The major difference seems to be the locations, as Bigfoot is or has been seen in large, mountainous forests in the Northern States, while the Skunk Ape has been seen only in the vast, swampy areas of Florida.
This creature is said to be half man, half ape and is often called the Skunk Ape due to the fact many eyewitnesses report a strange odour, similar to rotting eggs or sulphur, coming from it. In most cases it is dark haired and has glowing red eyes, however some have reported a creature with red stringy hair. Like Bigfoot, the creature is said to be larger and taller than an average human male, however Bigfoot is said to be significantly bigger than the Skunk Ape. Also, like Bigfoot, tracks have been found in many cases, some thirteen inches long.
The major difference seems to be the locations, as Bigfoot is or has been seen in large, mountainous forests in the Northern States, while the Skunk Ape has been seen only in the vast, swampy areas of Florida.
Another alleged picture of the Skunk Ape. Reports of sightings of the creature date back to the 1920's, with many being made in the sixties and seventies. Most of the sightings were made in the autumn of 1974, in Dade County, Florida. On more than one occasion it is claimed people have accidently hit and possibly injured the creature, or creatures, with law enforcement and fire officials finding hair and blood on damaged vehicles afterwards. The passengers describing an encounter with a "man wearing a large fur coat”. The creature has been seen swimming, throwing rocks at people and on more than occasion "dumpster-diving", retrieving scraps of food from rubbish bins and dumpsters.
Like northern Native American tribes in regards to Bigfoot, the creature is known to the southern tribes of Florida, with elders telling stories of swamp beasts said to be "tall, hairy men" who are held in some respect and are left alone. There are no accounts of these creatures attacking humans, however reports from the 19th Century claim the creature may have been responsible for devouring dogs, livestock and jumped like "a giant kangaroo" and ran as "fast as lightning”.
The sightings that were made in the 1970s were so common that many believed a Skunk Ape would soon be caught. In 1977, State Representative Paul Nuckolls from Fort Myers tried to pass House bill 1664 (HB1664) which would make it a misdemeanour to “take, possess, harm or molest anthropoid or humanoid animals.” Although the “Skunk Ape Bill” made it through Committee, it was withdrawn before an official vote could be taken by the House. Undeterred, Nuckolls tried again the following year with HB58, but it too got shot down before a vote could be taken.
Like northern Native American tribes in regards to Bigfoot, the creature is known to the southern tribes of Florida, with elders telling stories of swamp beasts said to be "tall, hairy men" who are held in some respect and are left alone. There are no accounts of these creatures attacking humans, however reports from the 19th Century claim the creature may have been responsible for devouring dogs, livestock and jumped like "a giant kangaroo" and ran as "fast as lightning”.
The sightings that were made in the 1970s were so common that many believed a Skunk Ape would soon be caught. In 1977, State Representative Paul Nuckolls from Fort Myers tried to pass House bill 1664 (HB1664) which would make it a misdemeanour to “take, possess, harm or molest anthropoid or humanoid animals.” Although the “Skunk Ape Bill” made it through Committee, it was withdrawn before an official vote could be taken by the House. Undeterred, Nuckolls tried again the following year with HB58, but it too got shot down before a vote could be taken.
Cast of a Skunk Ape print? Many sceptics argue the creature, once again like Bigfoot, does not exist and put accounts made down to either hoaxes or misidentification of possibly escaped known primates, as no non-human primates are common to the southern U.S. States. Many will cite the fact that in 1992, 240-250 dog-sized monkeys had escaped from the University of Miami's Perrine Primate Centre during Hurricane Andrew. This may account for more recent sightings, but what about the many made nearly half a century earlier?
A curious fact that many deflect is that most primates lack what is called a tapetum lucidum, a layer of tissue behind the retina that reflects light. So why are people reporting encounters with a creature with glowing red eyes?
There are 1,650,000 acres of connected forests and swamps spanning from the Florida Everglades, through Louisiana stretching into Eastern Texas that are mostly impenetrable, and could be inhabited by a tall hominid creature or creatures that manage still today to evade hunters and the general public. Although many still think that the idea of ape-men sharing the world with us to be impossible and lacking hard evidence, the Skunk Ape of Florida is yet another example of the possibility that perhaps an unknown primate, or ancient ancestor of man, may still reside alongside us, hiding from the ever-growing expansion of the Homosapien civilisation.
Or maybe a mutant hybrid?
What do you think of The Skunk Ape?
A curious fact that many deflect is that most primates lack what is called a tapetum lucidum, a layer of tissue behind the retina that reflects light. So why are people reporting encounters with a creature with glowing red eyes?
There are 1,650,000 acres of connected forests and swamps spanning from the Florida Everglades, through Louisiana stretching into Eastern Texas that are mostly impenetrable, and could be inhabited by a tall hominid creature or creatures that manage still today to evade hunters and the general public. Although many still think that the idea of ape-men sharing the world with us to be impossible and lacking hard evidence, the Skunk Ape of Florida is yet another example of the possibility that perhaps an unknown primate, or ancient ancestor of man, may still reside alongside us, hiding from the ever-growing expansion of the Homosapien civilisation.
Or maybe a mutant hybrid?
What do you think of The Skunk Ape?
By Matty Sweeney 2014
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