The Skunk Ape is...strAInge

strAInge: The Skunk Ape

Episode Show Notes

Deep in Florida's swamps, witnesses have reported encounters with a towering, foul-smelling, hairy creature known as the Skunk Ape. Is it an undiscovered primate, an escaped exotic animal, or simply Florida's version of Bigfoot?

In this episode of strAInge, we explore decades of sightings, the mysterious 1997 encounters near Ochopee, the investigations of Skunk Ape hunter Dave Shealy, and the extraordinary Myakka photographs mailed anonymously to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office in 2000.

From eyewitness testimony and historic newspaper reports to disputed photographs and scientific skepticism, we investigate one of America's most enduring cryptozoological mysteries.

Next episode: The Thunderbird.

Links and Further Reading

History and Sightings

Smithsonian Magazine: On the Trail of Florida's Bigfoot, the Skunk Ape (2014)

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/trail-floridas-bigfoot-skunk-ape-180949981/

Miami New Times: Creature Feature (1998)

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/creature-feature-6360117/

United Press International: Everglades Skunk Ape Sightings Renewed (1997)

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/07/28/Everglades-skunk-ape-sightings-renewed/2892870062400/

Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization: 1997 Ochopee Sightings, Report 721

https://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=721

BFRO: Historical South Florida Sightings and Newspaper Reports

https://www.bfro.net/gdb/show_report.asp?id=44837

State Archives of Florida: The Florida Skunk Ape Protection Act, House Bill 58 (1978)

https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/351325

Dave Shealy and the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters

Smithsonian: Dave Shealy's 2000 Skunk Ape Footage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmRBUSK_Dsg

Smithsonian Institution: Archival Record of Shealy's Video

https://www.si.edu/object/yt_LmRBUSK_Dsg

Skunk Ape Research Headquarters, Ochopee, Florida

https://www.skunkape.info/

The Myakka Photographs

Loren Coleman: Cold Case Investigation of the Myakka Photographs

https://cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/myakka-pix-07/

A Singular Fortean: The Myakka Skunk Ape Photographs

https://www.singularfortean.com/singularjournal/2017/9/14/the-2001-myakka-skunk-ape-photographs

Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Incident Report (Archived Copy)

https://www.sasquatch-hunters.com/documents/sarasota-report

Loren Coleman: Myakka, Masks, and Apemania

https://cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/myakka-update/

North American Wood Ape Conservancy: Evaluating Purported Sasquatch Photographic Evidence

https://www.woodape.org/index.php/evaluating-photo-evidence/

Jacksonville State University: Scientific Reactions to the Myakka Photographs (2001)

https://www.jsu.edu/news/jan_june2001/02222001a.html

Science and Skeptical Investigations

Skeptical Inquirer: Tracking Florida's Skunk Ape, by Joe Nickell

https://skepticalinquirer.org/newsletter/tracking-floridas-skunk-ape/

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Florida Black Bear Facts

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/bear/facts/

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Black Bear FAQs

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/bear/living/faqs/

University of Florida: Nonnative Monkey Populations of Florida, History, Status, and Potential Impacts

https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/UW491

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strAInge explores the unusual, the unexplained, and the extraordinary stories that persist at the edges of history, science, and human experience all presented using AI tools

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