I have little doubt that “Skunk Ape” was coined by someone within the community of southwest FL. Either Ochopee or Chokoloskee, Everglades City, or thereabouts. Could very well have been Shealy’s family.

There was, in fact, an annual “Skunk Ape” festival around the time amateur archaeologist “Buzz” Osbon had his much publicized “Skunk Ape” encounter in the early 70’s.

To my knowledge, the festival was held at what is now the Oasis ranger station in the Big Cypress, and was a fund raiser for the local volunteer Fire Dept., which David Shealy’s family and many other local families were involved in.

The best source of military assistance regarding this term might come the public affairs office at Eglin AFB. Eglin is home to a rather large number of specialized units. The PA folks might be able to provide contact sources for old hands in the Combat Air Controller Field or some of the folks in the Army Ranger battalion.

Interesting post and unusual about there being no legends from the Seminoles about Bigfoot. Most of the other Native Americans have some sort of legend. Later,

LL

Still looking for concrete confirmations, not just remembrances, before the date of August 10, 1971, for the use of “Skunk Ape.”

Thank you.

Skunk Ape mystery; does it roam swamp?

Dania, Fla (AP) – A former Seminole Indian chief and a noted Everglades photographer say they’ve never heard of the “Skunk Ape” a huge creature a Miami engineer claims to have spotted in Big Cypress Swamp.

“I’ve never heard of anything like it in any of our legends,” said Betty Mae Jumper of Dania who until June was chairman of Florida’s Seminole Indian tribes.

“I’ve lived out there in the Big Cypress off and on for a long time, and I never heard any Indian talking about any apeman,” she said. “The Indians on the Big Cypress Reservation know that area pretty well, too.”

Earl Diemer, chief photographer for the Central and South Florida Flood Control District in West Palm Beach, said he had never encountered any “Skunk Ape” stories in nearly 40 years of working in the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp.

“I’ve been fooling around the Florida wilderness since the 1930’s, the early 30s, and I’ve never heard of the thing,” Diemer said. “I won’t say there’s no such thing, but I’d have to run into it before I’d believe it.”

H.C. Osbon, an amateur archaeologist and electronic engineer, said Sunday that he and four companions saw a “Skunk Ape” in the Big Cypress last February.

Osbon said the group encountered the creature while hunting for Indian artifacts, and he estimated its size as 7 feet tall and about 700 pounds. Osbon said also that he made plaster casts of the footprints of several of the animals.

The amateur archaeologist said the creature got the name “Skunk Ape” because of a bad odor it seemed to give off.

Diemer said “The Florida black bear might be mistaken for an ape under the right combination of circumstances. Of course when it stands on its hind legs it’s only about five feet tall, but they can look 20 feet tall if the circumstances are scary enough.”

Osbon said he planned an expedition to capture an apeman next month and offered to “make a believer” of scientists who wanted to come along.

“If they’re looking for a photographer, tell them I’m game,” Diemer said. “I’d love to photograph something like that.”

Craig Heinselman
Peterborough, NH

Have a great Florida day!

Apparently one of Wikipedia’s contributing authors read Cryptomundo. I see an addition to the entry there has already been added, with a link to this discussion. Perhaps this will result in more answers to the question of the name’s origin.

Great.