Investigator's Journal: The Skunk Ape

 

 

Like many researchers, the idea of Bigfoot has been a trying pursuit. To this point, a quest full of clues, but no solid proof supporting the validity of the existence of this famed cryptid. If Bigfoot does inhabit the forest scattered throughout North America, it most likely would have migrated there between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago. About the same time that our early ancestors made their way to the continent. However, if this is the case, where are the fossilized remains, a valid question and a large part of the mystery?

 

To me, there is no question that a very large bipedal creature walks this continent. In fact, I am not alone in my assumption. If you search writings of ancient North American Indians you will find that numerous tribes identify this large cryptid in their writings and lore that have been passed down from generation to generation; even geographically separated tribes such as the Hopi, the Sioux and the Iroquois share legends of a Bigfoot-like creature. While some of these legends describe a large supernatural or spirit being, many detail the same creature spotted in the wild today.

 

A look at American history will show reports of Bigfoot sightings as far back as the 1830s, but interest in the phenomenon really picked up with sightings, photos and footprints during the second half of the 20th century.

 

What Bigfoot or the Sasquatch might be is still unknown. When you look behind the furry outer layer, it is easy to see that Bigfoot displays many more human characteristics than animal traits. However, as everything else studied in the realm of Cryptozoology; theories are all that exist until we find definitive proof. So where can you find Bigfoot? A great question with many different answers, in North America most sightings appear in the Pacific Northwest. Although, there have been sightings reported in every state and province in Canada. One overlooked variation of the Bigfoot legend that is its southern cousin, the Skunk Ape.

 

The Skunk Ape has many of the same characteristics of a Sasquatch, it is a large, hairy, bipedal non-human primate scattered throughout the Southeastern United States. It has orange to brown fur, taking root in swampland vice the forest regions like its Northern neighbor. This cryptid came to prominence during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s during a series of encounters throughout Florida, Georgia, and Texas with a Bigfoot-like creature having a pungent skunk-like smell.

 

One of the biggest differences between a Sasquatch and a Skunk Ape is the toes. While a normal Sasquatch has a full foot including five toes, the Skunk Ape has only three toes. Much like Bigfoot, very little evidence exists that can confirm its presence. In fact, the amount of quality evidence available is quite inconclusive and it does not exist to the same grand scale as the Sasquatch findings in the North.

 

Recently, a team set out in search of this legend on a trip into the Florida Everglades. This outing was set-up to be a scouting mission and planning session for an upcoming detailed expedition into the area. With the aid of a local guide, the group equipped with camera’s, recording equipment, casting materials and miscellaneous sample kits, set out by airboat, in the Big Cyprus National Preserve in a region just South of Alligator Alley. By noon, the faction arrived in an area that could play host to the creatures believed feeding habits, reaching a plateau filled with young hatchlings and vegetation, filled with a combination of animals that would be prime targets for the omnivorous cryptid.

 

Not far from this landing, the team discovered some alligator caves, one of the recognized potential habitats of this animal. From research, evidence of the creature existing underground in damp dark caverns mixed with the methane gas produced from decay would explain the pungent odor as characterized by witnesses. Ironically, in an unfortunate twist, the ongoing drought throughout the Everglades is actually a benefit in identifying these dens, which are normally only visible during the dry season.

 

In all, the team spent nine hours on the airboat neighboring the famed Florida alligators plotting locations on a map and into a GPS unit for future planning. While no tracks or evidence was readily available, all of the locations that the team discovered matched believed environments for this species and a return trip for a detailed investigation into the area is on the horizon.

 

Today the Skunk Ape and Bigfoot remain an enigma throughout North America and the world. Many researchers dedicate their lives to finding these elusive cryptids with no avail. Do they exist? That is a hard question to answer. As researchers, we must do our best to perform a detailed inspection of the evidence. Sure hoaxers are out there, but for every piece on manmade evidence collected, a piece of unexplained evidence exists at another location. This is where we need to weed out the fraud and document the vital pieces to this Cryptozoological puzzle.