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~jeff~ · Guide Joined: 29 Dec 2005 Posts: 1506

Mystery of the Skunk Ape

Spending time with legendary creature's biggest fan

News-press.com
September 26, 2007

Self-proclaimed Skunk Ape expert David Shealy gets up close and personal with the man-beast. This statue stands outside his Ochopee gift shop.

The Skunk Ape is real. David Shealy says this with a straight face.

"It's not a joke," he says, standing by a hulking concrete ape inside his gift shop. "This is very serious.

"There aren't many Skunk Apes left."

Of course, Shealy knows some people think he's making up the whole Skunk Ape thing. He even jokes about having someone in an ape suit jump out and scare a visiting reporter.

There's also Shealy's newly updated Web site, which takes a self-deprecating jab: "Dave Shealy has spent nearly his whole life looking for a creature, believed by many, to be only a figment of his imagination ..."

But that hasn't stopped Shealy from turning his Ochopee gift shop into Skunk Ape Central. While peddling mostly Florida souvenirs and a petting zoo (no Skunk Apes, sorry), the cluttered shop also boasts Skunk Ape DVDs, T-shirts and a framed photo Shealy claims he took of the big guy.

Now Shealy has upped the Ape ante with his new Web site (skunkape.info) and his first "Everglades Skunk Ape Research Field Guide" — a manual for finding the stinky, Big Foot-like creature in the wild.

Shealy says he spends at least four days a week perched in a tree stand in the Everglades, hunting for another glimpse of the beast. So he's learned a thing or two along the way.

For example: Skunk Apes love lima beans. If you want to see the critter, try leaving a handful of dry beans near your tree stand.

The book — a pamphlet, really, at just 18 pages — sells for $4.95 at the shop and through his Web site.

The guide is expensive, sure, but Shealy swears it's essential.

"I can tell you this," he says, brandishing the bright yellow pamphlet. "It will increase your chances of seeing the Skunk Ape by 100 percent.

"Without this, you're not going to have a chance."

Then again, he admits he hasn't seen one, himself, in several years. But he knows they're still around.

"Oh yeah," says the well-tanned Shealy, wearing a Skunk-Ape T-shirt and a camouflage do-rag. "They're still out there. I find bedding areas and droppings. I get reports every day."

For more than a decade now, the words "David Shealy" and "Skunk Ape" have been practically synonymous. Shealy and his malodorous friend have appeared all over the local news and on national TV shows such as "Unsolved Mysteries" and "The Daily Show."

Shealy got famous in 1998 after going public with 27 blurry, far-away photos of what he swears is a Skunk Ape.

A year later, he almost got Collier County officials to spend $44,000 for expeditions in search of the Skunk Ape. County commissioners eventually rejected the proposal.

Shealy, 43, says he sees himself as a sort of champion for the Skunk Ape. He claims — without offering any scientific proof — there are seven to nine Skunk Apes roaming Big Cypress National Preserve. And he wants to make sure the creatures survive.

"I didn't ask for this job," he says. "but it's a job I have to do."

Shealy says he first encountered the Skunk Ape with his brother when he was 10 years old. But the closest he's ever gotten was 1997, when he snapped those famous photos.

"I had been out in that tree stand for a long time," Shealy says. "I was determined to photograph a Skunk Ape.

"I spent six months out there, only coming down for food and water and rest."

That's when it happened.

"I heard splashing in the water, and that got my attention," he says. "I looked, and 100 meters away, walking toward me, was the Skunk Ape."

Shealy says the beast shambled past the tree stand and then walked off into the distance.

"I was just dumbfounded," he says.

Since then, he says he goes into the Everglades frequently and perches for hours in his tree stands. Waiting.

"I'm just looking," he says. "Looking for Skunk Apes."

Shealy's new "field guide" contains chapters on Skunk Ape vital statistics, how to plan an expedition and what to bring. It also urges people to use caution.

"The Everglades is a dangerous place, and people need to be careful," Shealy says.

Big Cypress park ranger Bob DeGross seconds that. People should go well-prepared, and they should bring food, maps and compasses.

It's easy to forget how dangerous the Everglades can be — especially with civilization so nearby.

"Just a mile or two out of town, it gets pretty wild, pretty fast," DeGross says.

As for the Skunk Ape, DeGross is skeptical. He's never seen one, and neither have any of his park rangers.

Still, anything is possible.

"We've had no verifiable reports of the Skunk Ape," DeGross says. "That being said, there are a lot of things out there that have yet to be discovered."

"Who's to say that people haven't seen something out there?"

Kelly Chesser, who lives in the RV park Shealy runs on the edge of Big Cypress, says he's a true believer. Although he's never seen the beast, either.

"I peek out there every day," he says. "I keep thinking it's going to walk up."

Chesser, 46, contributed several crude drawings for Shealy's field guide. He says he interviewed Shealy and other Skunk Ape witnesses to come up with "accurate" drawings of the Ape — right down to four toes on each foot.

"I basically believe it's out there," Chesser says, standing outside his battered RV. "And I'll tell you why: Because nobody's given me any good reason that it's not."

Now Shealy says he has even bigger plans for the Skunk Ape. And he hopes to turn more people into believers.

"They want to know about the Skunk Ape," he says. "They say they saw it on TV."

Shealy hopes to ride that wave of interest. He's even talking about opening some kind of Skunk Ape theme park in Ochopee ("Skunk Gardens," perhaps?).

The theme park would feature fancy exhibits and actual Skunk Ape rides, he says. And who knows? He might even get real researchers working there, measuring Skunk prints and testing droppings taken from Skunk nests.

It could happen, Shealy says.

And it could draw more Skunk fans from all over the world.

"Maybe the parents won't be totally convinced," Shealy says, and suddenly he breaks into a smile. "But the kids might."
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~Jeff~ My Outdoors 411 Photo Gallery.... Summer 2008 Photos

~jeff~ · Guide Joined: 29 Dec 2005 Posts: 1506

SKUNK APE STORIES
Is the Skunk Ape: fact or fiction? The News-Press wants to know.

If you've seen or heard the Skunk Ape, we want to hear from you. The News-Press will publish an article compiling people's "Skunk Ape stories."

Write down your true story (no fiction, please) and send it to Charles Runnells at crunnells@news-press.com. Or mail them to Charles Runnells, c/o The News-Press, 2442 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33901.
Make sure to include your full name, age, city of residence and a phone number.
Also send us any photos, video, drawings or other evidence (Copies only. The News-Press can't guarantee their return).

TRACKING THE SKUNK APE

Skunkape.info and The “Everglades Skunk Ape Research Field Guide” compile all sorts of information on tracking the elusive Skunk Ape.

Here are some of the top tips:

• Explore the rural roads: U.S. Highway 41 crosses directly through the Everglades from east to west. This paved highway is recommended as there are multiple rural gravel roads that allow access into the interior of the Big Cypress National Preserve. Back country camping is allowed throughout the Preserve, but certain regulations apply.

• Talk with the Locals: Take every opportunity to speak with the “locals” as this can be a good source of information.

There are two tribes of Indians that live in the Everglades: Seminole and Miccosukee. These Indians consider Skunk Apes to be sacred animals. You may find these Indians reluctant to speak about Skunk Apes. In order to obtain any information from the Indians you must first gain their trust. This may be difficult.

• Stay safe and dress appropriately: Many potential dangers exist in the Everglades. Poisonous insects, plants and snakes are indigenous to the area.
Loose-fitting clothing is your best protection against poisonous plants and insects. Snake boots are a good idea but not essential. Your best defense against snakes is to keep a sharp eye.

• Bring the following items: • Map of the Area • Compass • Flare Gun/Whistle • Flashlight/Strobe Light • Snake Bite Kit • Binoculars • Camera • Ladder Stand • Leaf Rake • Rope (30 feet) • Personal Locating Device • Plaster of Paris (5 pounds) (For taking casts of Skunk Ape footprints) • Bucket (5 gallons with handle) • Plenty of Water • Magnifying Glass • Insect Repellent • Pocket Knife • Survey Tape (2 rolls) • Duct Tape (1 roll)

• Locating tracks: Locating tracks in standing water is virtually impossible. The majority of the Everglades is flooded with water during the summer months. Under these conditions look for trails through parted grass. Fresh trails can be identified two ways: If a Skunk Ape has recently moved through, the water in the trail will appear muddy; the second way would be to scan the surface of the water for bubbles.

NEW BOOK
A new book on Florida’s unexplained wildlife hits store shelves next week. It includes chapters on giant anacondas, sea monsters, cave lions and ... the Skunk Ape.

Author Michael Newton writes that Skunk Apes have been reported all over Florida, but more reports have come from the Collier County area since the 1990s.
Here are some facts and excerpts from the book:

• “While every state except Rhode Island has produced reports of unknown hominids or primates,” Newton writes, “Florida’s list of sightings nearly rivals that of the Pacific Northwest, where Bigfoot/Sasquatch has beguiled explorers and researchers since the early nineteenth century.”

• Skunk Ape sightings have been reported statewide since 1942, but a few other accounts date back to the early 1800s. The 1970s saw an explosion in Ape sightings. The reports died down in the 1980s, but resurfaced again in the 1990s (especially in Collier County, particularly in the Ochopee area).

• The author estimates there have been 355 Skunk Ape encounters and 11 stories referring to multiple sightings since the early 1900s.

• Five sightings came from the Ochopee area between July 16 and Aug. 17, 1997. The first two were reported by professional guides Steve Goodbread and Dow Rowland while conducting a tour group through Big Cypress National Preserve. “The dozen-odd witnesses to those encounters agreed that the ‘ape’ stood seven feet tall,” Newton writes.

• Since then, several other witnesses have snapped blurry photos of the alleged Skunk Ape, including David Shealy’s famous 1997 photo and another photo by Ochopee fire Chief Vince Doerr. Shealy also took two plaster casts of a Skunk Ape footprint, and he claimed to have found several brown, three-inch hairs at the scene. But they were subsequently lost.

• The author seems to doubt David Shealy’s authenticity.

“Some observers view David Shealy’s role in the Skunk Ape controversy with suspicion,” Newton writes. “Shealy claimed his first primate sighting in 1973, but he reaped little publicity until 1997, when he lobbied Collier County commissioners to publish Vince Doerr’s photo as a tourist draw.

“By then, Shealy was the proprietor of Ochopee’s Florida Panther Gift Shop (where his Skunk Ape footprint casts reside in a display case) and the Big Cypress Trails Campground (scene of alleged primate sightings and site of Shealy’s annual ‘Skunktoberfest’).

“To some, Shealy’s marathon pursuit of the Skunk Ape — and its startling results — suggested a small-town P.T. Barnum rather than a scientist.

“Critics split between branding Shealy’s quest a hoax or an obsession.”
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~Jeff~ My Outdoors 411 Photo Gallery.... Summer 2008 Photos

Phil · Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 3:12 pm Post subject:

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Politicians are like diapers, they should be changed frequently and for the same reason!!!

I prefer water parks over amusment parks because you don't have to leave the rides to go to the bathroom!!