Local Floridian News Segment Reveals Skunk Ape Diet

Local Florida's WCJB-TV does a segment on the Skunk Ape

Florida has it's own version of Bigfoot, known as the Skunk Ape, thought to be a distinct separate species from the Sasquatch. In a recent news segment Florida's WCJB-TV interviews those who have talked to witnesses and reveal the popular diet of the Skunk Ape. read the report below followed by the video segment.

It'a an urban legend that has kept floridians curious over the years…
What can the dark shadow passing through the woods be?

John Bird is a manager at BC Quarter Circle Ranch in Fort White.
He says a neighbor who lives down the road told him he had seen skunk apes.

"He said that they were pulling the spanish moss off the trees and eating it," Bird said, remembering what a neighbor had told him. "He also told my fiance and i and her uncle that he on a regular basis feeds these skunk apes sweet potatoes and plantains."

And while it may seem strange, skunk ape sightings are not uncommon in the area.
Bob Hagen, owner of the ranch says he's lived on the property his whole life… he says his grandparents and great-grandparents told him stories about the mysterious creature.

"I have actually never seen anything that i would swear to you is sasquatch, skunk ape, or bigfoot, or anything else," he said.
But, he adds, he has seen some strange stuff around.

"I was out on the tractor on the pines a couple of months ago, and first, out of the corner of my eye I saw something pretty large moving through the pine trees," Hagen said.

Big foot, sasquatch, or florida skunk ape, thos who claim to have seen it say its tall, dark, but not quite so handsome.

"Our wildlife assistant biologist does receive periodic sightings of different creatures that we actually have no physical evidence for," Karen Parker, Public Information Officer for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said. "And that's the case of the skunk ape." SRC: WCJB.Com

Dave Shealy's Skunk Ape Research in the News, May is Skunk Ape mating Season.

Every May like clockwork, Dave Shealy gets in the news.
Is it because of mating season?

"I am the expert; the state and county expert on the Florida Skunk Ape, and have been for years." -- Dave Shealy

After blogging about Bigfoot news, you start to see patterns. The Kemerovo Yeti pops up in November and Skunk-Ape mating season begins in in May. This year Dave Shealy does not mention the Skunk Ape May mating season and usually we hear from him through Wireless Flash - FlashNews. But it is May and we did hear from Dave.

Legend of the Skunk Ape has ties to the Suncoast

Reported by: Josh Taylor 

Last Update: 5/14 11:40 pm

For years, there have been rumors and reported sightings of an unknown mysterious creature lurking in the woods and wetlands of Florida. The legend only grew with photos sent to our local sheriff's office more than a decade ago.

Most people know the names Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti. But in Florida, the human-like hair-covered creature has also been called the Skunk Ape. The National Parks Service says it is only a myth. However, sightings date all the way back to Native Americans.

Today the legend is fiction for most and fact for a few. And down the Tamiami Trail, deep into the Florida Everglades, is a man who says there is even more proof.

"I am the expert; the state and county expert on the Florida Skunk Ape, and have been for years." Dave Shealy runs what's he calls the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters in Ochopee. It doubles as a roadside attraction where you can check out snakes, buy a t-shirt, and hear one whopper of a tale. "In July 2000, I took these photographs. We have between 7 and 9 of these things that live in the Big Cypress Preserve."

Shealy says the foul-smelling man-beast is real. In addition to the time he capture "it" on video, he says he's had two other encounters and hears new stories all the time. "There is just no reason to believe they are not real. The photos are pretty clear actually."

There are also some photos taken on the Suncoast that Shealy says may back up his story. In the year 2000, two snapshots were sent anonymously to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. The person writing the note saying the animal came back numerous nights and they thought it was an escaped orangutan. "Honestly it looks like an orangutan. They actually have clear layovers and set on top it looks like an orangutan."

Shealy believes it could be the creature he's been studying. "The ones I have seen have much shorter hair than what is in the photos. I believe that the photos are real."

What are the odds of an actual ape-like creature living in the Everglades or anywhere in Florida? Very high; there are some living in Wauchula.

"The Center For Great Apes is a sanctuary for orangutans and chimps." Patti Ragan runs the center, which is not open to the public. It’s home to 35 great apes, including one named Bubbles once owned by famed musician Michael Jackson. "The temperature actually in Florida is conducive; this is a tropical climate, which is why the sanctuary is located here."

Shealy believes the creature has been raised in Florida for generations with plenty of ways to survive. "Pretty much everything you see here is edible. The Everglades is a virtual smorgasbord."

It is true though that monkeys are becoming more familiar to Florida. In Central Florida near Silver Springs, a group of Rhesus monkeys have spread to what some say is more than 200. "A group of them got loose. They had a community already. They started to reproduce, now it is a huge community I believe along that river," says Ragan.

Her opinion of the Myakka photos? "I look at that as a costume."

Ragan says there are more real problems for apes -- like the harvesting of palm oil overseas -- facing these very real creatures. "There are so many orangutans and chimpanzees and other great apes that are in the wild being slaughtered right now. Not in the wild in Florida. Not some mythology that is running around in the Everglades."

As for Dave and the Skunk Ape, the legend will likely live on -- even if the Skunk Ape doesn't...or does it? "It has really been a long time since somebody asked me if it's a guy in a gorilla suit. In the beginning, there were a lot of doubters, but these animals are real."

There is a group called the Big Foot Field Researchers Organization. They actually have local people who look into sightings across the nation. Their website has a few stories from our region.

You can also find information on the Center For Great Apes in Wauchula. All of those very real animals are there because they were abused or could no longer be cared for.

You can even find Dave Shealy's research on the Skunk Ape at www.skunkape.info.

Copyright 2012 Southern Broadcast Corp of Sarasota All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SRC: MySunCoast.Com

Discovery Channel Filming Pilot For Skunk Ape Investigator

This sounds some-what unofficial and not completely confirmed. What we do know is Authentic Entertainment is filming in Florida , but producers aren't commenting.

Read the full article below from NapleNews.com

David Shealy’s been trekking through the Everglades for 35 years looking for the skunk ape.

This week, he’ll have company.

A film crew from California-based Authentic Entertainment, the production company behind reality TV shows Ace of Cakes (Food Network) and Flipping Out (Bravo) is in Ochopee to begin filming a pilot reality show intended for Discovery Channel in the fall.

Shealy, curator of the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters, has appeared on other shows about the legendary skunk ape, a yeti-like creature adapted to the wilds of South Florida, including "Unsolved Mysteries" and "The Daily Show."

He calls the Discovery Channel pilot the biggest project he’s worked on.

An Authentic Entertainment associate in Burbank confirmed that a film crew is in Florida on the project but the producers in the field declined to comment on the making of the show.

Shealy said they’ll employ a helicopter to get aerial shots and tour the 10,000 Islands by boat. Advanced technology, which he declined to describe, will be used as well, he said.

“The producers really want to put together a successful show,” he said.

Shealy knows not everyone buys the tale of the skunk ape, a 7-foot tall biped covered in hair and emitting a foul odor. The website for his Trail Lakes Campground on U.S. 41 in the Big Cypress Preserve, hosts an ongoing poll asking visitors if they believe in the creature’s existence. More than 25 percent of the 2,500 respondents either believe it to be a hoax or are skeptical.

But a majority either believe in the idea or find it plausible.

He says new information is surfacing all the time. “I’m hot on the trail,” he said, adding the fresh evidence points to the presence of a skunk ape around Sunniland. “New doors are opening. I look forward to bringing this to a close real soon.”

He hopes the Discovery cameras are on hand when he does. “We’re going to break new ground here.”

Saturday just after noon, to mark the occasion of the television production and as a way to thank his camp ground and Skunk Ape Research Headquarters patrons, he is hosting a fan appreciation day at the campground. There will be live music, food, soft drinks, Shealy said. He said he’s promoting a family event so alcohol won’t be sold, but he has a couple of cases of Swamp Ale, a specialty beer made in Florida that he may give out as prizes.

Local radio host Joe Whitehead is to serve as the master of ceremonies.

In the 1990s, Shealy gained notoriety when he tried to sell the county on the idea of using tourist tax revenue to fund an expedition leading the media in search of the skunk ape. The theory was that if the media could show the skunk ape to be real, tourists would flock here hoping to get a glimpse.

The idea actually won initial approval from the Tourist Development Council before being shot down by an unamused board of county commissioners.

In the intervening years, the explosion of reality TV means that an enthusiastic pitchman -- “I consider myself the top researcher in the country, possibly the world, on the skunk ape,” Shealy says -- can on his own get the media to come to the swamp in search of an elusive and possibly illusory creature.

Even if the cameras don’t capture a skunk ape, they’re sure to capture the beauty of the Everglades, all without taxpayers having to spend a dime.

If it ends up on a major cable network, that’s a win for Collier County either way.

SRC: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jun/13/brent-batten-shealy-skunk-ape-discovery/

David "right place, right time" Shealy, claimed on July 8, 2000 to have filmed 3 minutes worth of skunk ape footage. Below is a mini documentary posted on youtube in 2008.

Its Official Mating Season Begins for FL Bigfoot

Its the first week of May, and like clock-work we always get an updated report from Wireless Flash News Inc that it is mating season for the Florida Skunk-ape, Bigfoot's “smaller, smellier cousin.”

We did not repost the entire newsflash as we don't think its completely appropriate or in good taste. Eh Eh! Before you get the censorship police, we have provided a link to the whole article and you can wince at your own risk.

Thursday, May 13, 2010 17:10 GMT

OCHOPEE, Fla. (Wireless Flash - FlashNews) – Dave Shealy, an RV park owner in Ochopee, Florida, is the leading researcher of the Skunk Ape, Bigfoot’s “smaller, smellier cousin.”

He says there are seven to nine Skunk Apes currently living in the Everglades and right now is the best time to spot one because it’s their mating season.

Lately, he’s heard lots of campers report strange sounds coming from the swamps. He figures it’s the Skunk Ape’s mating call, which sounds like a low-pitched dove cooing...
© Copyright 2010 Wireless Flash News Inc

The story continues to talk about how during this time females can attract the Skunk ape so beware.

EXTERNAL LINKS
The Original Flash News Article
Dave Shealy's SkunkApe Research HQ