Skunk Ape

Florida's version of Bigfoot goes by a name that reflects one of its most reported characteristics: an overwhelming, sulfurous stench. The Skunk Ape has been sighted in the swamps and wetlands of southern Florida, particularly in and around the Everglades, since at least the 1960s. It is described as a large, bipedal, ape-like creature standing 5 to 7 feet tall, covered in dark reddish-brown or black hair, and accompanied by a smell variously compared to rotten eggs, methane, or a skunk.

The earliest widely reported sightings date to the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1971, multiple witnesses in Dade County reported seeing a large, hairy creature in residential areas near the Everglades. The sightings drew enough attention that the Dade County police investigated. Throughout the 1970s, reports continued from areas around Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park.

The most notable piece of evidence emerged in 2000, when an anonymous woman in Sarasota County mailed two photographs to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. The letter, from a person identifying herself as an elderly woman, described a large ape-like animal that had been coming into her yard at night and taking apples from her porch. The photographs show a large, dark, upright figure partially obscured by palmetto fronds. These images, known as the "Myakka photographs" (named after the nearby Myakka River State Park), remain some of the most discussed Skunk Ape evidence. They have never been definitively debunked, though skeptics note that the figure's proportions are consistent with a person in a costume.

Dave Shealy, a self-described Skunk Ape researcher based in Ochopee, Florida, claims to have first seen the creature in 1974 at age ten and has reported multiple encounters since. He operates the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters, a roadside attraction and self-funded research center on the Tamiami Trail.

Skeptics point out that the Everglades are home to a population of wild primates. Rhesus macaques and squirrel monkeys, escapees from tourist attractions and research facilities, have established feral colonies in several Florida locations. Black bears also inhabit the area and can be misidentified when seen briefly in poor lighting. The Everglades' remoteness and dense vegetation make thorough surveys difficult, but no physical evidence of a large, unknown primate has been recovered from the region.