Man Claims He Spotted Florida’s Elusive Skunk Ape [VIDEO]

SARASOTA COUNTY (CBSMiami) – A Florida man has come forward with video on YouTube claiming he has spotted the rare and elusive Skunk Ape on camera.

Mike Falconer posted his video and still pictures on YouTube. He claims the video and pictures were taken March 2nd, 2013 in the Myakka River State Park in Sarasota County.

The video from his iPhone 4S is grainy and the creature is very far away but he said he and his son spotted large hairy creature and quickly began pursuing it across a large field.

He and his son can be seen in the video chasing down what they believe is a Skunk Ape — a large, stinky beast and reputed cousin of Bigfoot.

Others also stopped their cars along the road to try and get a glimpse.

This is not the first time a Skunk Ape may have been photographed in Sarasota County. In 2000, a Sarasota woman took photos of large hairy animal in her backyard taking apples from her back porch. She mailed two pictures to the Sheriff’s Department. While she thought it was an orangutan, Bigfoot enthusiasts believed it was a Skunk Ape.

The Skunk Ape is also known as the Stink Ape, the Myakka Ape, and the Myakka Skunk Ape. It is rumored to live in the Florida Everglades, as well as North Carolina and Arkansas, although reports from Florida are more common.

The smell of a Skunk Ape has been reported to be similar to rotten eggs.

According to the United States National Park Service, the Skunk Ape exists only as a local myth. Reports of the Skunk Ape were particularly common in the 1960s and 1970s.

In the fall of 1974, numerous sightings were reported in suburban neighborhoods of Miami-Dade of a foul-smelling, hairy, ape-like creature, which ran upright on two legs.