Uncle and CJ are all over this.
Except I found a relevant article in last week's Metro Pulse that they might have missed. The article detailed the search for a rumored beast in the Smokies, one that legend has it has run here for hundereds of years. The article talked to eyewitnesses who've seen the critter, scientists who've studied it, park rangers familiar with the areas where the beast has been spotted, and they all agree that there's something to these wild tales.
Then the article asks other scientists and researchers from out of state, who pooh-pooh the possibility that all these people know what they are talking about. The ascribe the stories to misidentification of other, more common animals.
Sounds exactly like what we're reading about the skunk ape, right?
The article was about cougars in the Smokies.
My point? Don't know that I really have one, except maybe that the further removed an 'expert' is from a situation, the less likely he is to accept unusual possibilities.
Posted by Rich at October 24, 2003 12:49 PM | TrackBackHi Rich,
The skunk ape doesn't distress me. It's coyotes in my back yard, (near Asheville, NC) 50 steps outside the circle of light, brutally killing my 15 week old black lab pup, Whitney. The account is on my site, under "Violence Entered My Life Last Night. . ."
I live in nearby Clinton. As much as we all would like for a skunk ape/bigfoot creature to roam the hills of LaFollete it's probably a bear or coyotes. My grandpa used to rabbit hunt in LaFollete and one time seen a bear, but this was in the 60's or 70's.
Posted by: Dewayne on October 28, 2003 1:53 AMHello
does anyone know were the skunk ape was last seen
I would like to know if any one knows where the creature is now . it would be neat to be the first to have bigfoot stew . if you know contact me .
Posted by: alan rankin on October 28, 2003 2:42 PMI am a grad student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and I am sure that the skunk ape is a southern sub-species of a saquatch.
Posted by: Jason Lupardus on October 28, 2003 5:18 PMLupardus, you are crazy as hell. It is a saquatch that has bred with a striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis).
Posted by: Nick Mckracken on October 28, 2003 5:20 PMI must agree with that Lupardus. I have actually seen one out in the Royal Blue area. It was rather stinky! I found some droppings on the ground that resembled my own shit. Mckracken you must be thinking about your moma that lives with a Mephitis mephitis in Memphis!
Posted by: Anthony Chitwood on October 28, 2003 7:54 PMIt's good to see that only our best and brightest from UT are posting here. Keep up the good work, fellas...
J. Kindall
Posted by: JLK on October 29, 2003 10:15 AMI must agree with my lover Mckracken. We were out together in the woods in the woods and saw something that looked like a mix between a skunk and a gorilla. Nick is the greatest!
Posted by: Brooke on October 30, 2003 9:42 AMI'm very proud of my students that have come on here and defended the myth of the Skunk Ape. I was out in the woods eating Beggar Lice one day and had the privelage of seeing this beast. Unfortunately the skunk didn't have the pleasure of it due to getting pummeled from behind. Seems as if Mr. McCracken is right.
Posted by: Billy Minser on October 30, 2003 11:04 AMI often go jogging first thing in the morning around here and usually in the buff. I am a hairy man and some of these sitings might just be false. In readings I have discovered only the Skunk Ape can live in deep mesophytic type forests (Wyatt 2001). Due to severe fragmentation, there is just no way this beast can live around here. However, I will continue my morning jogs around the woods.
Posted by: Dave Buehler on October 30, 2003 4:30 PMOn the remark made that it us a pack of coyoties
it is the smartest ones I have ever known to dress in a monkey suit. I wish they would just give it to us strait
I am a firm believer in the skunk ape,We had proof of it at my work-place.It had gotten into one of our bathroom stall,s and messed everywhere,only a skunk-ape could have made such a mess and smell,we have posted picture,s so hopefully we will nab it soon
Posted by: lonnie on November 4, 2003 7:38 PMHey guys, I am the past co-president of the UT wildlife society, and in my professional opinion, I think that skunk apes are warm and fuzzy. I have a few at my farm in Mascot, TN and they talk to me when I'm scared or confused. Please treat them with love and respect.
Sincerely,
the bow man, Aubrey Dick
Hey my fellow skunk ape watchers,
I am still trying to understand the actual alleles for the specific genotype of Skunkus apeis hillbillii found in the southern extremes of Cambell and Scott counties. I still will debate the fact that it is a close relative of Memphitis memphitis. I think Brooke is cool!
Hey fellow skunk ape enthusiasts,
I think that the skunk apes are really attractive, but one time I was guiding a trout fishing trip and we pulled over to eat lunch. All I had was guess what, Skunk ape steaks? I had four----teen beers and seven--------teen Yagermeister shots with my meal and it gave me a stomach ache. I spent the enire weekend in a hotel room lying in a bed, PUKING on myself. Don't eat skunk ape, it will hurt you
Brooks Fost (current UT wildlife president)
Posted by: Brooks Fost on November 4, 2003 9:29 PMOnce in February, my buddy Sterling and I were out deer hunting in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and we saw a skunk ape. I shined the light on it while Sterling shot it with a .22 calibur rifle. The steaks gave us a similar affliction to what Brooks had but it sure did make a good looking full body mount.
Posted by: Mitch on November 5, 2003 6:10 PMI want to make a correction to what my buddy Mitch was saying about our huntin' expedition in the park. We were actually out bear hunting with his dogs. If we didn't have them dogs we wouldn't have ever been able to shoot that skunk ape in the middle of the night!
Posted by: Sterling Daniels on November 5, 2003 7:24 PMHey guys, Mitch told me that the only way you can get one of those skunk-apes to come out and play is if you run through the woods naked. I have done this once or twice, but I still haven't seen anything. I don't understand what I am doing wrong?
Posted by: Roy Smith on November 5, 2003 7:28 PMNick is great, Nick is cool, when I see him it makes me drool.
Nick is great.
What's a skunk ape. HE he he.
Posted by: Mollie Gallager on November 6, 2003 10:22 AMAre Brooke and Roy Maried? They like have the same last name or something. Roy is sure going to be mad, because she talks about that Nick guy a bunch.
Posted by: Mollie Gallager on November 6, 2003 10:25 AMUh hello!!!! Is anybody going to tell me what a skunk ape is.
Posted by: Mollie Gallager on November 6, 2003 10:26 AMI tried to buy a skunk ape with UT money. I thought its head would look good on the wall over my kids $25,000 entertainment center that I also bought with UT money.
Posted by: Former President John Shumacher on November 6, 2003 10:29 AMMollie, What's wrong with you?! You don't know what a skunk ape is??? Jeeeez!!!
Posted by: Shaun on November 7, 2003 8:06 AMIn regards to eating skunk ape... I believe that the experiences above are due to in proper preparation. I am a regular at Cool Beans where there have a great menu with many skunk ape dishes. My favorite is the jalopeno skunkape burger. I don't know how it is seasoned but I believe the same spices would be great on fried turkey. I could eat skunk ape at Cool Beans at least once a day!
Posted by: Anthony Chitwood on November 7, 2003 7:09 PMI once killed 14 skunkapes in Pennsylvania with a spotlight, but it wasn't poaching because I gave my meat (uhhh i mean the skunk ape meat to some old ladies)
Posted by: Brooks Fost on November 10, 2003 12:13 PMOh yeah I made an A on my Fish Test and My Habitat Lab Quiz Damn I know my plants and fish well and Dr. Wilson Loves (MY Meat) Uhhhhhhh I mean skunkape meat.
Posted by: Brooks Fost Current President Wildlife Society on November 10, 2003 12:15 PMI onece saw 4 skunkapes at the same time... Well hell atleat I think there was 4 my eyes so crazy they might have only been 1
Posted by: Google Eyes on November 10, 2003 12:21 PMDoes anyone want to join my new group Skunk Apes Unlimited (SAU). We are devoted to preserving habitat for the smelly but beautiful creature. One day there may be a population large enough for a regulated hunting season and we can all enjoy Skunk Ape Jalopeno Burgers. Membership fees for SAU are $15 for 1 year. Just stop by my office and see me or leave it with Carrie Hedio if I am not there.
Big Daddy Lup
That Carrie chick is hot. And she is my baby's momma.
Posted by: Brotha Brac on November 10, 2003 1:00 PMHey Roy, TWRA has me on a work out plan and my biceps are bigger than yours.
Officer Matt Cameron
I was sitting in my tree stand up on Big Ridge State Park when I seen a hybrid skunk ape/ fox squirrel mix. It scared me when it stood at the base of my tree and looked at me. What do I do?
Posted by: Roy Smith on November 10, 2003 1:12 PMI went hunting in LaFollete last weekend and had been sitting about an hour when I saw that skunk ape. I have to admit the thing was damn sexy. Well I ended up making out with it and now I am sick as hell. I hope the find out what it is so I can find a cure.
Posted by: Mitch Clure on November 10, 2003 2:22 PMI went to the oak ridge check station this weekend and i was the only one there cause I am the only one who every does anything cause everybody else in the wildlife society sucks. On my way home I saw that skunk ape and I was so mad and stressed out I whipped its ass. Its dead now.
Posted by: Brooks Fost on November 10, 2003 2:26 PMOne day me and uncle Cecil were sittin in a holler in Cocke county trying to get motivated when that dang skunk ape walked by. Or at least I thought it was a skunk ape. Luckily Andy fell out of a tree and set the thing on fire and saved us.
Posted by: Lucas Williams on November 10, 2003 2:48 PMI wish Roy would take his shirt off. I mean the skunk ape is cool. Roy is great.
Posted by: Rachel Mosley on November 11, 2003 4:37 PMOnce Brian Chandler and I were trapping wood rats (Neotoma floridana) and we saw a skunk ape. Brian ran and attempted to tackle it. He said that he used that technique for catching Henslow sparrows in South Carolona. The skunk ape got the upper hand though and bred with Brian creating another subspecies, the Marilyn Manson Ape.
Sincerely,
Carrie H.
I saw the skunk ape this aftenoon! I was eating at O'Hepatitis and saw the damn thing running down Cumberland Avenue screaming like a banshee and flapping it's arms around. I have never seen behavior like this before. Well, the cops finally wrestled it down and put it in an ambulance. I wonder if they are going to release it back into the wild or keep it in captivity so we can all see it.
Posted by: Nick McCracken on November 18, 2003 3:07 PMI saw the same terrible event today. The creature seems to have fallen in love with the street in front of the liquor store because he was kissing and licking it. I actually got sort of jealous to be honest. Why doesnt he kiss me like he does that damn street.
Posted by: Sterling Daniels on November 18, 2003 4:07 PMThat skunk ape sure can dance. He he he.
Posted by: Molly Gallagher on November 18, 2003 7:38 PM The skunk ape DOES not exist. If anything it is a primate that has escaped it's habitat in a zoo...and that is even unlikely since supposedly the skunk ape resembles an orangutang. If it is an orangutang, and supposedly the skunk ape is eating everyone's dogs and cats, this is impossible since the orangutang is NOT carniverous. The only monkeys that eat meat occasionaly are the chimpanzee, gorillas (some), and baboons. All the desriptions of the skunk ape point towards a primate other than the carniverous ones i listed above. So anyone worried about a frenzied, man-sized gorilla devouring their animals...don't fret! It's probably just coyotes! So we can rule out the skunk ape eating everyone's pets.
Now about it's existence...as much as i wish a mutated monkey exists that somehow "crossed" with a skunk, had little "munk" babies of its own, survived in a strange enviroment that is NOT designed to sustain any monkey-like animal (hence the only monkeys in the TN or FL areas are in zoos or wildlife reserves where they can make pseudo-enviroments), has left supposed countless feces in people's yards and not a single person has bothered to send those samples to a lab to test its validity, and has some how escaped thousand's of people's clutches....could exist.
I'm not usually a skeptic ...obviously..since I bothered to look into the whole skunk ape thing in the first place, but this one seems very blown out of proportion. It would be cool if it exists, but nothing points to its existence besides people's paranoia and unremitting curiosity. If any one has valid substantial evidence that it exists, or has seen this skunk ape in person and: A.)wasn't drunk at the time, B.) has vision that could differentiate between a pile of dirt and a monkey, or C.) tends not to lie or do drugs. If you pass that criteria..PLEASE respond. Well, I hope I've helped you all out a little. I'm hoping it does exists, but so far it's not looking good.
your page sucks! it has no pictures.
Posted by: on November 25, 2003 10:45 AMI think that Bob is from the main campus. Only someone from EEB would say something so retarded when there is obviously so much evidence pointing towards it's existance. Look at all of the previous commentary, I mean Mr. Clure "made out" with the damn thing. Remember, I'm going for my Masters and I am smarter that you are.
Posted by: Jason Lupardus on November 25, 2003 3:16 PMI am not familiar with EEB since I don't live in TN. Hopefully no one will take offense to your comment.
And concerning your "smarts", Jason; going for a Masters may mean you are intelligent, but it doesn't necessarily imply that you have gone past the first level of cognition yet.
Bob my dear, you must not have made it past the first level of cognition yourself if you are refering to gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and skunk apes as "monkeys". They are apes sir. Any validity you may have had went out the window 4 times with your inability to differentiate a pile of dirt from an ape. And besides, why are you so worked up over all of this?
Posted by: LBG on November 27, 2003 11:32 PMI think Bob is trying to keep the skunk ape to himself. I bet he lives in LaFollette and is some kind of seed-eating hippie and doesn't want Brooks or Mitch to shoot it. Jason is smart and Nick is sexy.
Posted by: Brooke Smith on December 1, 2003 1:06 PMYeah, Bob sucks or something.
Posted by: Butthead on December 1, 2003 1:06 PMWhere's my evidence that this "monkey" exists? (o;
Posted by: Bob Oerland on December 3, 2003 10:46 AMBob you are wrong because they did send a fecal sample to the University of Tennessee parisitology lab for testing. Jack ass.
Posted by: on December 3, 2003 3:06 PMAfter much consideration and "deep thoughts", I have come to the conclusion that you guys are correct. I apologize for my lack of recognition of apes and dirt. Furthermore, skunk apes are the highlight of my life.
Posted by: Bob Oerland on December 3, 2003 10:29 PMI was wondering who has been posing as other people on this site? There are many names that have been maliciously used in a fictious manner to misrepresent ideals that are not valid from the real person. I hope that the persons that have posted these false statements will inevitably realize their childish behavior. The skunk ape saga is a fictious entity.
Posted by: on December 3, 2003 10:42 PM Yes, someone is using my name as a facade. I just want substantial evidence from you guys concerning the skunk ape (this excludes making-out with it). Did they get those test results back ever about the sample? If so, where can I view a legitament interpretation of the results?
About using the term monkey: since we DON'T know what family the "Skunk Ape" belongs to, I thought it was fitting to use that term due to uncertainty. If you check, you will see that an ape is know generally as a "monkey",however, not specifically. I don't think specifics are of the matter here, but more-so the question: Does it even exist? So, bring it on folks. (o:
Damn it Bob, apes are only generally known as monkeys by completely uneducated morons. They are not even in the same family. Great apes such as gorillas, chimps and orangutans are in the same family as we humans- Hominidae. Monkeys are generally of the family Cercopithecidae. Calling an ape a monkey is practically like calling a dolphin an anchovy.The genetics and the cognitive capabilities make a world of difference between monkeys and apes! Regardless of skunk apes, this is something you should know.
Posted by: LBG on December 7, 2003 5:11 PMI like cheese! he he he!
Posted by: Mollie on December 12, 2003 2:20 PMSkunk Ape Develops Taste for Mexican Food
My beloved dog Chimi is dead! He, sadly, is the latest victim of the skunk ape's carniverous rampage! Although it's difficult to type through the sorrow, I've managed to set up a memorial fund in his memory. The donations will be used to fund the capture and study of the skunk ape in East Tennessee.
Oh, Sorry to hear that Chitwood. I have a donation for your drinking binge, er uh I mean capture fund. Where do we send the money?
Posted by: on December 17, 2003 3:24 PMActually the skunk ape tales are true. It was posted on chanel 6 news website and was all over the media. I am a member of the emergency services in campbell county area and can tell you, for sure, without a doubt that the creature was shot and killed then sent to a nearby university for examination. I helped bring the creature out of the woods. Thats all the info I have, hope that helps you all.
Posted by: 911Guy on December 28, 2003 2:36 AMThe skunk ape is real! The other day, when I was taking a break from my studies as a very educated grad student in EEB (ecology and evolutionary biology for those who are not in academia), I went ice fishing and a real purty one came stumbling out onto the pond. The swollen genital area and bright red posterior convinced me it was in heat! Thinking quickly, I held up an open bottle of "Hot Damn!" and the cinnamony-goodness tempted the mighty beast towards my ice hut. Several booze-fueld hours of love-making later, the noble primate released me from its grip, and stumbled back into the woods, not uttering a word, or even looking back. Breathtaking! Next time I'll make a video and put it on the web!
Posted by: Greg Erickson on January 19, 2004 10:00 AMhey does anyone have any recent updates on the skunk ape?
Posted by: grant on March 23, 2004 1:25 PMhey does anyone have any recent updates on the skunk ape?
Posted by: grant on March 23, 2004 1:25 PMhey does anyone have any recent updates on the skunk ape? if so email me at snakelvr426@aol.com
Posted by: grant on March 23, 2004 1:26 PMmy bff saw the monkey yesterday, i live in fla. she said that her cat went missing and she can't find it now!!! Freaky!!! i can't belive it, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But, we don't call it a skunk ape, we call it a skunk monkey
my bff saw the monkey yesterday, i live in fla. she said that her cat went missing and she can't find it now!!! Freaky!!! i can't belive it, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But, we don't call it a skunk ape, we call it a skunk monkey
my bff saw the monkey yesterday, i live in fla. she said that her cat went missing and she can't find it now!!! Freaky!!! i can't belive it, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But, we don't call it a skunk ape, we call it a skunk monkey
my bff saw the monkey yesterday, i live in fla. she said that her cat went missing and she can't find it now!!! Freaky!!! i can't belive it, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But, we don't call it a skunk ape, we call it a skunk monkey
my bff saw the monkey yesterday, i live in fla. she said that her cat went missing and she can't find it now!!! Freaky!!! i can't belive it, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But, we don't call it a skunk ape, we call it a skunk monkey
my bff saw the monkey yesterday, i live in fla. she said that her cat went missing and she can't find it now!!! Freaky!!! i can't belive it, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But, we don't call it a skunk ape, we call it a skunk monkey
Sadly, I didn't have time to read all of the comments but I have one thing to say about this "skunk ape" My son who is nine years old heard about this "skunk ape" just this week. The person that told him about it went as far as showing him the pictures from the Internet. My son has not slept in 4 days!!! He is so freaked out about this crap.....the "skunk apes" my goodness they are just apes!!! The pictures are the same things that you see in the zoo. But to convince him of this is impossible. He has had no sleep in 4 days, like I said, and has brought himself to throw-up because he is so upset. Amazing how we can convince our children of this so easily but we can't or with struggle convince them that there is a God or a higher being. What the hell is wrong with this world these days!!! Our children believe that this "skunk ape" can walk this earth and destroy at will. But if you show them the same thing at the zoo, it is completely different to them. Why is that?? What has the world come too? I would understand this if there was no technology and we depended on having an excuse for bad things and even death that happen to our loved ones. But with all that we know, why do we threaten our children with a darned ape that is going to attack them in their sleep?????? An ape that looks like the same thing at the zoo for that matter!!!! My son has decided to believe in God he has been taught God and evolution and he chosen God. And yet he is told a story on "skunk ape" and is scared to death. Why is that??? He sees on the news every day about war and other terrible things, he doesn't fear them or it, but yet he fears this "skunk ape” how sad is that. I try at my best as a single parent to protect my child and protect where he goes on the Internet. Sadly, he was not under my supervision when he was told this story. I am appalled at what this "story" has done to him. Don't get me wrong, my child has been brought up with a choice in what he believes in he has been taught and will be continued to be taught all aspects of life and it is his choice in what he believes in. This though has no value in it what so ever. It only upsets and destroys. Apes in the wild have a life, as do humans, we have no control in their habitat, nor do they in ours, nor should we, nor should they!!! SO why are we making it such an issue to the point of our children losing sleep over it???
Posted by: Rachelle on July 2, 2004 11:42 PMlook i heard about this skunk monkey on unsolved mysteries. it has gotten my attention. and to rachelle, sorry to hear that your nine year old is having nightmares about the skunk monkey and all but you need to stop and think about something. who's fault is it how come your son don't know how to tell the difference between fact and fiction? i have a nine year old of my own and he finds this whole skunk monkey business to be hilarious. seems to me like you need to sit down and talk to your son and tell him the difference between fact and fiction. my children have watched just about every scary movie out there and believe me when i say, they know the difference between fact and fiction.
Posted by: Melanie on August 28, 2004 5:44 PMskunk ape? im in chatham county n.c my family just call it bigfoot and he is in a well wooded area he follows a creek and we have only seen him at night well on one ocassion i saw him at like dusty dark when it was getting good and dark i was riding my four wheeler along that creek and i rode up on somthing that seemed to be a hairy man kneeling down but when i got closer he stood up and kinda backed away slowly from me like he was scared when he got away from me it was like he screamed and it made every hair on my stand up
if anyone else in north carolina has seen this please e-mail me thanks
It is called a "skunk monkey," and if any of you watched the news (...the LaFollete version) then you would know that. You would also know that the skunk monkey does exist. I dont appreciate your mockery of the creature. Just leave it alone!
Posted by: caitlin on October 1, 2004 3:52 PMWe saw a supposed stuffed skunk monkey at the Lone Cabbage restaurant in Cocoa, Fl this week. We found this website trying to determine if it was a hoax...
Posted by: Lee Ann on October 9, 2004 9:59 PM