Posted On: June 22, 2023

I've been going down into the western Everglades on fishing/camping trips since 2008 and have had some odd shit happen I wanted to share.

The area where all of this happened is a river mouth not far from Ochopee, Fl. This area is a well known skunk ape hotspot. I won't name the river because it's near and dear to me and doesn't get a lot of traffic.

The magnet- two years ago I did an overnight camping trip with my Fiancé.

We paddled into a primitive campsite a couple miles up from the mouth of said river.

The campsite is an old homestead with two tabby cisterns.

Large rectangular water basins about 10x10' and 5' deep.

I placed our water bladder on the edge of the closest cistern.

We fished that evening for a few hours and came back to the site in the dark.

The following morning, I went to get water from the bladder and about two feet from the bladder on the cistern wall I found a 3in rectangular magnet.

Even odder, the magnet was covered in all kinds of different screws, nails, and pieces of wire.

All different sizes and degrees of corrosion.

I guess I could have missed it initially but it really stood out against the pale tabby of the cistern and was within an arms reach of the water bladder.

Placed neatly on top to the wall.

The smell- three years ago I was making the same trip with a friend and we were paddling in along a mangrove shoreline a few miles away from the previously mentioned campsite.

The wind was very low and it was quiet.

It gets dead quiet down there.

We simultaneously were hit with one of the strongest smells I have experienced outdoors.

It was a cross between cheap cologne and a skunk.

It seemed artificial, unlike a blooming plant or carrion.

We both just looked at each other and said WTF is that!?.

It was extremely strong and went away as quick as it came.

Falling trees- this has happened multiple times along the river.

I'd say I've seen it 6 times.

It gets extremely quiet with low winds and sounds echo off the water.

On windless days a dead tree near the shoreline will come crashing down through the mangroves followed by some movement in the undergrowth.

The mangrove roots are too dense to see into them more than a few feet.

The tree that falls is parallel to the canoe or within line of sight.

Conformation bias?.

I have always loved cryptids and was in known skunk ape country.

I have spent a lot of time camping and paddling in the southeast and these are the only times I have been sketched out.

The Everglades are harsh and weird and magical and a great place for an unknown animal. Or aliens.

Post from user Skunk_Apes_Stink at at reddit.

Comments:

Outside of the Patty film in Washington, I havent really looked into locations where these guys have been spotted.

I read about a woman near where I Live who claimed to know a whole family of them.

She may have been telling the truth, but she was made out to be a kook.

I live in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.

Do you know of any credible reports of sightings in this area?.

I generally hike a lot, but have never been watching for any tell tale signs I may be in their habitat.

Comment from user TheInvisibleRedneck at at reddit.

Posted On: June 22, 2023

I've been going down into the western Everglades on fishing/camping trips since 2008 and have had some odd shit happen I wanted to share.

The area where all of this happened is a river mouth not far from Ochopee, Fl. This area is a well known skunk ape hotspot. I won't name the river because it's near and dear to me and doesn't get a lot of traffic.

The magnet- two years ago I did an overnight camping trip with my Fiancé.

We paddled into a primitive campsite a couple miles up from the mouth of said river.

The campsite is an old homestead with two tabby cisterns.

Large rectangular water basins about 10x10' and 5' deep.

I placed our water bladder on the edge of the closest cistern.

We fished that evening for a few hours and came back to the site in the dark.

The following morning, I went to get water from the bladder and about two feet from the bladder on the cistern wall I found a 3in rectangular magnet.

Even odder, the magnet was covered in all kinds of different screws, nails, and pieces of wire.

All different sizes and degrees of corrosion.

I guess I could have missed it initially but it really stood out against the pale tabby of the cistern and was within an arms reach of the water bladder.

Placed neatly on top to the wall.

The smell- three years ago I was making the same trip with a friend and we were paddling in along a mangrove shoreline a few miles away from the previously mentioned campsite.

The wind was very low and it was quiet.

It gets dead quiet down there.

We simultaneously were hit with one of the strongest smells I have experienced outdoors.

It was a cross between cheap cologne and a skunk.

It seemed artificial, unlike a blooming plant or carrion.

We both just looked at each other and said WTF is that!?.

It was extremely strong and went away as quick as it came.

Falling trees- this has happened multiple times along the river.

I'd say I've seen it 6 times.

It gets extremely quiet with low winds and sounds echo off the water.

On windless days a dead tree near the shoreline will come crashing down through the mangroves followed by some movement in the undergrowth.

The mangrove roots are too dense to see into them more than a few feet.

The tree that falls is parallel to the canoe or within line of sight.

Conformation bias?.

I have always loved cryptids and was in known skunk ape country.

I have spent a lot of time camping and paddling in the southeast and these are the only times I have been sketched out.

The Everglades are harsh and weird and magical and a great place for an unknown animal. Or aliens.

Post from user Skunk_Apes_Stink at at reddit.

Comments:

Outside of the Patty film in Washington, I havent really looked into locations where these guys have been spotted.

I read about a woman near where I Live who claimed to know a whole family of them.

She may have been telling the truth, but she was made out to be a kook.

I live in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.

Do you know of any credible reports of sightings in this area?.

I generally hike a lot, but have never been watching for any tell tale signs I may be in their habitat.

Comment from user TheInvisibleRedneck at at reddit.