Skunk ape

Infobox Paranormalcreatures
Creature_Name = Skunk Ape


Image_Caption = One of the two Myakka Skunk Ape
photographs taken in 2000
Grouping = cryptid
Sub_Grouping = hominid
AKA =
Country = United States
Region = Southeastern States
Habitat = Everglades
First_Reported =
Last_Sighted =
Status = UnconfirmedThe Skunk Ape or Stink Ape or Swamp monkey is a hominid cryptid said to inhabit the Southeastern United States,cite news |title=The abominable swampman |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/62786.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=1998-03-06 |accessdate=2006-12-23 ] Reports of the Skunk ape were particularly common in the 1960s and 1970s. Particular cases of sightings of skunk apes include "Knobby" and the "Fouke Monster".

Description

The Skunk Ape is said to be a large hairy, bipedal mammal that inhabits swampy areas in the southern United States, including the Florida Everglades. It is said that the blood line of this hominid can be traced to that of its very close relative, the North American Sasquatch.Fact|date=May 2008 In Florida, they have (allegedly) been spotted as far north as Tallahassee and as far south as Lostman's River. Numerous sightings have also been reported in Louisiana, including the Cotton Island and Honey Island Swamp areas (See Honey Island Swamp monster). Large adult males are said to weigh in excess of 450 lbs and stand 6 to 7 feet tall with reddish or dark brown hair similar in appearance to an orangutan or gorilla. Some believe that this biped is part of the same species as the famed Bigfoot.Fact|date=May 2008 A handful of sightings have also happened in the Western US, including Simi Valley, CA. In spring 2008, several sightings have been reported near the Withlacoochee River in Brooks County, GA, between Quitman and Valdosta. The smell of a Skunk Ape has been reported to be similar to rotten eggs or Hydrogen Sulfide.

Myakka photographs

In 2000, two photographs of an ape, said to be the Skunk Ape, were taken anonymously and mailed to the Sarasota Sheriff's Department in Florida. They were accompanied by a letter [cite web
last = Coleman
first = Loren
title = Myakka Skunk Ape "Letter"
url=http://www.lorencoleman.com/letter.html ] from a woman claiming to have photographed the edge of her backyard. The photographer claimed that for three nights the ape had entered her yard to take apples from a bushel basket on her porch. She was convinced it was an escaped orangutan. The police were called to the house numerous times but when they arrived the 'Ape' was gone. The pictures have become known to Bigfoot enthusiasts as the "skunk ape photos".cite encyclopedia |title=Skunk Ape |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide |author=Newton, Michael |pages=430-431 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |date=2005 |id=ISBN 0-7864-2036-7 ]

Loren Coleman is the primary researcher on the Myakka photographs, having tracked down the two photographs to an "Eckerd photo lab at the intersection of Fruitville and Tuttle Roads" in Sarasota County, Florida. [cite web
last = Coleman
first = Loren
title = The Myakka "Skunk Ape" photographs
url=http://lorencoleman.com/myakka.html ]

Further reading

*
* "Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America" (NY: Paraview Pocket-Simon and Schuster, 2003, ISBN 0-7434-6975-5), which contains primary historical material on Apes, Skunk Apes, and the Myakka photographs.
* The song "Skookum Skunk Ape" by Willard's Canteen, on the album "Judy Garland of Freshly Severed Heads" (Bum's Ass Records, 2006).
* The show " Rammy VS the Skunk Ape" features a skunk ape facing Rammy the Raptor.
* The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti, and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide, Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe, Illust. Harry Trumbore, ISBN 0-380-80263-5

References

External links

* [http://www.floridaskunkape.com/what-is-the-florida-skunk-ape/ The "Florida Skunk Ape" Web Site]
* [http://www.lorencoleman.com/myakka.html The Myakka "Skunk Ape" Photographs]
* [http://paranormal.about.com/od/bigfootsasquatch/a/aa112204.htm Smelly Bigfoot: The Skunk Ape] at About.com
* [http://www.marcosun.com/newsskunkape.htm "Skunk Ape, Cousin of Bigfoot?"] (photos include one taken by Skunk-Ape expert David Shealy)
* [http://uvu.channel2.org/ uVu] Award-winning student film on the skunk ape; Keyword Search: Footprints
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6068929424608731141&q=skunk+ape&hl=en Video] describing research on skunk ape (Parody)
* [http://www.newanimal.org/skunkape.htm The Cryptid Zoo: Skunk-Apes]

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