I’ve got something special for you. The most complete and up-to-date list of Skunk Ape sightings you’ll find anywhere—covering all documented encounters from 1823 and all the way through 2024.
I’ve also included an interactive Skunk Ape sighting map that pinpoints each encounter (date, location, witnesses, and, of course, the relevant details).
Why does this matter? Why is this map important? Because the Skunk Ape isn’t just another North American cryptid. It’s Florida’s answer to Bigfoot. Hunters, tourists, farmers—even police officers—have claimed encounters with this strange ape-like monster. Some of their stories are eerie, others downright bizarre. But each one adds a piece to this strange puzzle.
Curious? You should be.
In this article:
Skunk Ape Sighting Map
Here is the most up-to-date Skunk Ape sighting map. The interactive map below contains all the documented sightings from 1823 until 2024.
To access the interactive Skunk Ape sighting map below, tap the “Play” button. You can zoom in and out on the different markers. Tap on the markers for additional information.
1980s Skunk Ape Sightings
Year: 1823
Event name: Midshipman David Porter Sighting
Reporter: Midshipman David Porter
Location: North Florida (the exact specific location not detailed)
Details: The first American Skunk Ape sighting on record was reported by David Porter in 1823. He described the creature as larger than a bear but not a man, resembling a large ape. After firing a shot, the creature ducked and disappeared into the trees. A powerful odor, similar to that of a skunk, washed over the area shortly after.
1990s Skunk Ape Sightings
Year: 1929
Event name: Perky Bat Tower Incident
Reporter: Unnamed witnesses
Location: Perky Bat Tower, Florida Keys
Details: Witnesses reported an unknown ape-like creature drawn to the newly constructed bat tower. After it was stocked with bats, the creature shook the tower, driving off the bats before retreating into the woods.
Year: 1942
Event name: Suwannee County Roadside Encounter
Reporter: Unnamed man
Location: Suwannee County, Florida, east of Tallahassee
Related: Is the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp Real? Evidence and Sightings
Details: The earliest published report of a Skunk Ape described a man whose car was accosted by one of the creatures. It reportedly hitched a ride on the running board of his car for nearly half a mile before jumping off and racing into the woods.
Year: 1947
Event name: Bardin Booger Sighting (1st incident)
Reporter: Unnamed woman
Location: Bardin, Putnam County, Florida
Details: While horseback riding through the Bardin Forest, a woman observed what she initially thought was a tall man in a long raincoat. However, it turned out to be a fur-covered creature.
Year: 1947
Event name: Bardin Booger Sightings (2nd incident)
Reporter: Multiple residents
Location: Bardin, Putnam County, Florida
Details: Several reports of the “Bardin Booger” described as a hairy ape-like monster roaming the area.
Year: 1957
Event name: Big Cypress National Preserve Camp Invasion
Reporter: Three unnamed hunters
Location: Big Cypress National Preserve, east of Naples, Florida
Details: Three hunters reported that a large, smelly, ape-like creature invaded their camp. This location, in the state’s southwestern corner, is nearly 400 miles from Suwannee County, where an earlier sighting was reported.
Year: 1963
Event name: Alachua County Encounter (1st Event)
Reporter: Unnamed family
Location: Alachua County, Florida
Details: Several family members encountered an ape-like creature around their rural home.
Year: 1963
Event name: Alachua County Encounter (1st Event)
Reporter: Unnamed witness
Location: Alachua County, Florida
Details: A witness reported an unknown biped animal peeking into their home windows at night.
Year: 1971
Event name: Broward County Sighting
Reporter: Unnamed individual
Location: Broward County, Florida
Details: A witness reported seeing a 5- to 7-foot ape-like creature with dark red to black fur at night.
Year: 1971
Event name: Broward County Trailer Park Incident
Reporter: Multiple children
Location: Broward County, Florida
Details: In August 1971, several news outlets reported that an armed search party had assembled to hunt for two large ape-like creatures that had scared some children at a trailer park.
Year: 1973
Event name: Family Encounter
Reporter: Unnamed family
Location: Florida (specific location not detailed)
Details: A family claimed a Skunk Ape chased their child off a tricycle.
Year: 1974
Event name: Lantana Shooting Incident
Reporters: Deputies Marvin Lewis and Ernie Milner
Location: West of Lantana, Palm Beach County, Florida
Details: Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputies Marvin Lewis and Ernie Milner reported shooting at a tall, ape-like creature in the swamp. The beast grunted and quickly disappeared into the vegetation.
Year: 1974
Event name: Dave Shealy’s First Sighting
Reporter: Dave Shealy
Location: Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
Details: At age 10, Shealy observed a creature walking across the swamp. He described it as looking like a man but completely covered with hair.
Year: 1974
Event name: Pembroke Pines Car Incident
Reporter: Richard Lee Smith
Location: Intersection of U.S. Route 27 and Hollywood Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, Florida
Details: Just after midnight on January 9, 1974, Richard Lee Smith hit something with his car near the Everglades. Initially, he thought it was a tall man in dark clothing. However, the figure, described as a seven- or eight-foot-tall hairy creature, lifted itself off the road, roared at him, and charged his car. Smith gunned his engine and drove away in fear.
Year: 1974
Event name: Lake Worth Hog Incident
Reporter: Buddy Sterrett
Location: Lake Worth, Florida
Details: In June, farmer Buddy Sterrett reported seeing a Skunk Ape lift one of his hogs (which weighed over a hundred pounds) and rip it to pieces. This incident occurred during a period of record drought and wildfires in the Everglades.
Year: 1974
Event name: Wellington Security Guard Shooting
Reporter: Cary Kantor
Location: Wellington, Florida
Details: In September, security guard Cary Kantor reported shooting at a Skunk Ape after it approached him from out of the woods and ignored his commands to stop. The wounded creature ran back into the brush.
Year: 1977
Event name: Key Largo Stoeckman Sighting
Reporter: Charles Stoeckman, his son Charlie, and local law enforcement
Location: Key Largo, near mile marker 94.5, Florida
Details: On July 14, 1977, Vietnam War veteran and former police officer Charles Stoeckman and his thirteen-year-old son Charlie encountered an eight- or nine-foot-tall Skunk Ape while collecting bottles in the mangroves behind their home. Stoeckman described the creature as having a “huge head and shoulders, long fur all over, and stinking like a dirty wet dog.” It emitted a high-pitched wailing noise. In the following nights, the overpowering stench persisted, and local law enforcement later responded to a report of a massive creature crouched beneath a shed on the property. Stoeckman cleared thirty feet of brush around his home to deter further visits.
Year: 1977
Event name: Delray Beach Golf Course Sighting
Reporter: Two witnesses
Location: Golf course near Delray Beach, Florida
Details: Two workers reported seeing a seven-foot-tall hairy ape-like creature sipping water from a lake on the golf course. They notified Palm Beach County Animal Control about the sighting.
Year: 1977
Event name: Key Largo Sighting
Reporter: Unnamed man
Location: Key Largo, Florida
Details: Another encounter involved the same creature emitting a high-pitched wailing noise.
Year: 1997
Event name: Everglades Tour Bus Sighting
Reporter: Approximately 30 to 40 tourists
Location: Everglades, Florida
Details: A group of tourists on a bus tour reported seeing a seven-foot, red-haired ape running through the Everglades. All witnesses described the creature similarly.
Year: 1997
Event name: Ochopee Fire Control District Chief’s Sighting
Reporters: David Shealy
Location: Everglades, Florida
Details: In July 1997, David Shealy noticed strange tracks around wildlife bait stands laden with lima beans that had been raided. He baited several locations with more lima beans, and multiple witnesses reported Skunk Ape sightings soon after. Shealy and others attributed these sightings to high seasonal flooding, driving animals into tighter ranges around higher ground.
Year: 1997
Event name: Multiple Skunk Ape Sightings by Many Witnesses
Reporters: Steve Goodbread, Dow Rowland, and their guests
Location: Everglades, Florida
Details: Tour operators Steve Goodbread and Dow Rowland, along with their guests, also reported sightings, noting that the 100°F weather, high humidity, and rural location made a hoax unlikely.
2000s Skunk Ape Sightings
Year: 2000
Event name: Myakka Skunk Ape Photos
Reporter: Anonymous woman
Location: Sarasota County, Florida
Details: The woman captured two photographs of a large, hairy, ape-like creature stealing apples from her back porch.
Year: 2000
Event name: Dave Shealy’s Skunk Ape Video
Reporter: Dave Shealy
Location: Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
Details: In July 2000, Skunk Ape researcher Dave Shealy claimed to have captured a video of the elusive creature in Big Cypress National Preserve. The video shows a large, upright, ape-like figure walking through the swamp at a distance. Shealy described the creature as approximately seven feet tall, with reddish-brown fur, and estimated its weight at around 450 pounds. Critics have debated the video’s authenticity, but it remains one of the most widely discussed pieces of alleged Skunk Ape evidence.
Year: 2013
Event name: Myakka River State Park Video
Reporter: Mike Falconer
Location: Myakka River State Park, Florida
Details: Falconer filmed a creature walking in the distance, which some believe to be the Skunk Ape.
Year: 2013
Event name: Bird Rookery Swamp Encounter
Reporter: Diana Sideri-Everdell
Location: Bird Rookery Swamp, Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed, Florida
Details: Diana Sideri-Everdell had a potential Skunk Ape sighting while walking trails in Bird Rookery Swamp near Naples. She described hearing branches crashing and large ape-like grunts or calls deep in the swamp, far from the Naples Zoo. The sounds were so intimidating that she and her friends chose to retrace their steps over alligator-filled trails rather than continue toward the source of the noise. The following day, she returned with her future husband and had a similar experience, which again drove them out of the swamp.
Year: 2015
Event name: Lettuce Lake Park Canoe Encounter
Reporter: Matthew McKamey and a friend
Location: Lettuce Lake Park, Tampa, Florida
Details: They noticed movement on the bank while canoeing and filmed what they initially thought was a bear. Upon closer observation, it appeared to be a large, ape-like creature slapping water and grabbing something before walking away.
Year: 2020
Event name: Naples Sighting
Reporter: Unnamed individual
Location: Naples, Collier County, Florida
Details: Reported sighting of the Skunk Ape in the area.
Year: 2021
Event name: Inverness Sighting
Reporter: Unnamed individual
Location: Inverness, Citrus County, Florida
Details: Another reported sighting of the creature.
Year: 2021
Event name: Seawall’s Point Sighting
Reporter: Unnamed individual
Location: Seawall’s Point, Martin County, Florida
Details: A more recent report of a Skunk Ape sighting in this area.
Year: 2023
Event name: Apopka Wilderness Trail Sighting
Reporter: Emily Jacobs and her dog, Scout
Location: Apopka Wilderness Trail, Orange County, Florida
Details: In May 2023, Emily Jacobs was walking her dog along the Apopka Wilderness Trail when Scout began barking uncontrollably. Moments later, Emily heard a loud rustling in the dense brush nearby. Peering through the trees, she spotted a large, hairy creature with dark, matted fur standing nearly seven feet tall. The creature stared at her for several seconds before retreating into the woods. Emily described an overpowering, skunky odor lingering after the encounter.
Year: 2024
Event name: Kissimmee Marshlands Sighting
Reporter: Unspecified
Location: Marshlands south of Orlando, near Kissimmee, Florida
Details: Dave Shealy mentioned multiple sightings in this area, suggesting it may harbor more than one Skunk Ape. This region has been consistently identified as a hotspot for alleged encounters.
Year: 2024
Event name: Interstate 4 and Interstate 95 Junction
Reporter: Multiple reports
Location: Intersection of I-4 and I-95, Florida
Details: Identified as a “hotbed” for Skunk Ape activity in recent years. Witnesses have reported seeing an ape-like creature crossing roads and disappearing into nearby woods.
Year: 2024
Event name: Ocala National Forest Evening Encounter
Reporter: Jackson Nguyen
Location: Ocala National Forest, Florida
Details: In February 2024, while setting up his camera to capture sunset photos in the Ocala National Forest, Jackson Nguyen heard a series of guttural growls from the underbrush. As he scanned the area, he noticed a tall, ape-like figure standing on the edge of the treeline, partially obscured by shadows. Local wildlife experts dismissed the claims, but Jackson insisted it wasn’t a bear or any known animal in the area.
Year: 2024
Event name: Alligator Alley Roadside Sighting
Reporter: Maria Rivera and her son, Lucas
Location: Alligator Alley, near Naples, Florida
Details: Another recent Skunk Ape sighting happened in June 2024, Maria Rivera and her 12-year-old son were driving down Alligator Alley late at night when they saw what they thought was a large tree branch blocking the road. As they slowed down, the “branch” stood up, revealing a massive, humanoid creature covered in reddish-brown fur. The creature stared at their car momentarily before stepping off the road and vanishing into the nearby swamp. Lucas described the beast as “bigger than any person” he had ever seen.
