Florida Skunk Ape
The Skunk Ape is what Floridians call their local version
of Bigfoot or Sasquatch. "Evidence supporting the existence of
the creature has been gathered over the years and consists of hundreds
of documented sightings, a few pictures, several foot casts and a
couple of hair samples."(Florida
Skunk Ape website)
The Florida Skunk Ape is supposedly a seven-foot-tall gorilla-like
creature said to resemble the legendary Abominable Snowman. Witnesses
in the Florida Everglades have claimed to have spotted the red-haired
Bigfoot, known locally as a Skunk Ape because of its appalling smell.
The National Parks Service dismisses the stories as a hoax, but American
tribes that live in the swamps insist it is real.(Crystallinks
cryptozoology)
"The Florida Skunk Ape gets its name from the very fact that
it lives in the state of Florida and that it emits an awful stench.
People who have the pleasure of experiencing this smell have described
it as that of an elephants cage, or a trash dump. One person even
said it was like the scent of a skunk that just did battle with a
dumpster."(Florida
Skunk Ape website)
Many sightings have been reported. Sightings have occured in all types
of environments, at all times of the day, and many different locations
from all parts of the state of Florida.
The recent Myakka photos and sightings have led some to believe the
Skunk Ape is no longer a myth but an actual creature that has survived
hidden from man in the vast expanses of undeveloped Florida.
links:
http://www.floridaskunkape.com/FSA/index.lasso
http://www.crystalinks.com/bigfoot.html
http://www.lorencoleman.com/myakka.html