The Skunk Ape

The Skunk Ape is Florida’s regional Bigfoot variant, distinguished by its overpowering stench. Since the 1960s, witnesses in the Everglades and surrounding swamps have reported encountering a large, ape-like creature with an odor compared to rotting garbage, methane, or an amplified skunk.

Description

Standing 6 to 7 feet tall, covered in dark reddish-brown or black hair, the Skunk Ape has a flat ape-like face. The smell—consistently reported as nauseating and unforgettable—often precedes visual sightings.

Evidence

The most famous evidence is the “Myakka photographs” from 2000—two images received anonymously by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office showing an ape-like creature among palmettos. The photographs remain controversial.

Dave Shealy operates the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters near Ochopee, collecting sighting reports and promoting awareness.

Explanations

Skeptics propose black bears walking upright, escaped primates, or the power of suggestion. The Everglades’ methane gas from decomposing vegetation might explain the characteristic odor.

Whether the Skunk Ape is a genuine unknown primate or folklore, the swamps of Florida apparently harbor something witnesses find difficult to explain.