The Skunk Ape: Florida's smelly answer to Bigfoot

Bigfoot gets the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Florida gets the Skunk Ape, a hairy, upright swamp creature named for the one thing every witness seems to agree on: it smells terrible.

What people describe

Witnesses describe an ape-like creature walking on two legs, 5 to 7 feet tall, with mottled reddish-brown hair. It's usually reported as smaller than the classic Bigfoot. It's also called the Florida Bigfoot or the swamp ape, and it's said to live in the swamps and forests of the Southeast, especially the Everglades.

Two centuries of sightings

The reports go back a long way. In 1818, local newspapers described a "man-sized monkey" raiding food stores near what is now Apalachicola. In 1929, witnesses said something shook the Perky Bat Tower in the Florida Keys. A family near Gainesville reported one peering through a window in 1963, and Broward County saw a rash of sightings from 1971 to 1975.

The modern boom came in 1997, when Everglades tour operator David Shealy reported raided bait stands and strange tracks, and a local fire chief said he photographed a dark upright figure in the swamp. Within two weeks, more than fifty people reported sightings in Big Cypress National Preserve. In 2000, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office received two anonymous photos of a big, hairy creature. In 1977, Florida lawmakers even considered a bill to protect humanoid animals, though it didn't pass.

The explanations

Most scientists put it down to folklore, misidentified animals and hoaxes. Skeptic Joe Nickell has suggested Florida black bears, possibly with mange, could explain some sightings. The National Park Service considers it a hoax. Still, 48 of Florida's 67 counties have reported sightings since 2010.

The Radazoid take

Only Florida could produce a monster whose defining trait is body odor. Somewhere in the Everglades there's either an undiscovered primate or a guy who's been fishing for three weeks without a shower, and honestly, both are possible.

The Skunk Ape has become a roadside mascot, a T-shirt and a reason to drive out to the swamp, and that's the best kind of legend. If you go looking for it, bring a camera, bug spray and a good sense of smell. Mostly the bug spray.