Florida IBS Sighting Reports

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IBS Report #: 697

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +025˚ 51' N
Longitude: 081˚ 22' W
Day:
Month:
Year: MISG
Time:
Elevation: 3

Data Source: TR77
Credibility: 1
Locality: EVERGLADES CITY
Researcher: UNK
Witness: UNK

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: BF SIGHTING

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER MISG TR#77 Also there had been a sighting near Everglades City, FL (he was calling from Cape Coral, FL).
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Ecology: Missing

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IBS Report #: 733

Location: DIXIE county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +029˚ 17' N
Longitude: 083˚ 09' W
Day: 9
Month: FEB
Year: 1998
Time: 5AM
Elevation: 1

Data Source: TR80
Credibility: 2
Locality: half-mile west of the Suwannee River
Researcher: BFRO
Witness:

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: SMALL REDDISH 5' 6 IN ANIMAL PICKS UP ROAD KILL

Sighting Text:
FL DIXIE 1998 TR#80 * Posted to the BFRO List : On Feb. 9th, in Dixie Co., FL, Old Town Hy. 349, 5 miles north of Hy. 19 and half-mile west of the Suwannee River, at a point one mile north of the blinking light at Willow Hole Road, in a heavy oak forest, witness was driving north on Hy 349. A small, reddish, long haired ape-like animal, about 5’6” tall, was noted picking up a road-kill at 5 AM, then running off into the forest of oak hammock
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Ecology: oak forest

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IBS Report #: 462

Location: FLAGLER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +029˚ 29' N
Longitude: 081˚ 19' W
Day:
Month:
Year: 1971
Time: 3 AM
Elevation: 5

Data Source: “Bigfoot All Over The Country;” 1978; Marian T. Place
Credibility: 2
Locality: Big Cypress Swamp
Researcher: PLACE
Witness: H V OSBON

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 7ft 700#, VOCALIZATION, Ape like creature;horrible smell; stubbed whiskers; tracks 17 1/2 and 18in;7ft, CRUDE SHELTER

Sighting Text:
FL,Flagler,29,29,81,20,d,m,1971,3AM,e,Place78,5, Sighting,Big Cypress Swamp, Ape like creature;horrible smell; stubbed whiskers; tracks 17 1/2 and 18in;7ft tall;700#;nest;chattering sounds, 1971 Florida. 5 amateur archaeologists hunting relics in Big Cypress Swamp. H V Osbon; said at 3 AM; loud walking sounds like elephant; came out of tent and saw a very big man with stubbled whiskers; covered with hair like ape; horrible smell; tracks 17 1/2 inches and 11 1/2 inch wide; 7 foot tall; 700#. Followed tracks and found smaller sets. Loud chattering like tape recorder at high speed. Found crude shelter of interwoven tree branches in a sandy area with 18 inch tracks. Fecal matter found. “Bigfoot All Over The Country;” 1978; Marian T. Place,
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Precip: CRESCENT CITY 2.6 3.3 3.8 3.0 3.6 6.6 7.0 7.4 6.5 3.5 2.1 2.7 52.1
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Ecology: Missing

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IBS Report #: 1146

Location: HENDRY county, FL. United States

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +026˚ 36' N
Longitude: 081˚ 07' W
Day:
Month: FEB
Year: 1997
Time:
Elevation: 19

Data Source: TR96
Credibility: 2
Locality: NORTHOF BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE, DEVILS GARDEN
Researcher: RICHARD RITCHEY
Witness: JAMES MCMULLEN

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: DARK BROWN,7 FT, 350#

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1997 TR96 ELV 15 261510N 0811652W * From:reptlmn@molalla.net (Richard Ritchey) Well, there has been another Bigfoot sighting in the Florida Everglades this month. Down there, it's called a "skunk ape." Even the Seminole Indians in the past century had a phrase: eh-stee jap-jack-ee, which translates roughly as "tall hairy man." This new February eyewitness doesn't want his name or voice on the record for fear of ridicule. But he called James McMullen -- a nature photographer, tracker and author -- who has researched the Florida panther for the past twenty-two years. His book Cry of the Panther, first published in 1984, was a New York Times best seller. Mr. McMullen learned tracking skills as a U. S. Marine who fought in Vietnam. During the August 1997 Bigfoot flap in the Everglades, he tried to find physical evidence that might prove whether the "skunk ape" was truly unusual or simply a mis-identification of brown bears. \ ***He was exploring north of the Big Cypress Preserve when he finally had his own encounter. Tonight, we'll first hear about a phone call he received this week from a farmer who had been riding his horse through a remote area called the Devil's Garden. Then, he'll talk about his own encounter. James McMullen: AUDIO # 2 IN -- Jim McMullen: "He said, ‘I saw a skunk ape, man. That's why I'm calling you -- I saw me a skunk ape!' I said, "Well, what did you see.” And then he went into the dark brown coloring. He said that when it saw him, it turned toward the tree line and rapidly walked along a trail where the cows come down to the fence line and just disappeared. And I asked, "How long did you see him?" He said, "Somewhere in the neighborhood of five to maybe seven seconds. "But I saw him! And he was big!" He said it was seven feet tall, maybe weighed about 350 pounds. "But it was the way he looked. He was erect, but leaning forward a little bit." Another thing he said was that when it turned, it saw him and he saw the side of it and when it turned, he saw the back side of it. And he said, "I saw that sucker's butt." (laughed) I asked, "What do you mean?" He said, "I saw his butt." WHAT DID IT LOOK LIKE? And I said, "What do you mean?" And he said, "There weren't no hair on it." That's what he saw. I asked him if he could remember anything else peculiar about it and he said probably the way it swung its arms. And the other thing was how fast it moved when he saw the guy sitting on his horse. I said, "How far were you from it?" He said, "I was pretty far away -- maybe about 75 or 80 yards. I had an inclination to chase him on the horse, but the horse wouldn't move towards him." I thought that was really neat -- the horse saw it, too, and wouldn't go towards it. I asked when he turned his back towards him, did he run? He said, "No, but he walked so fast." He couldn't believe how fast he was walking. He rides over there after the Bigfoot is gone and there wasn't a track in sight. He was up on that high ground, a kind of gravel trail where the cows come down. We've gotten a little rain down here during the winter months, but not that much to where there is a mud line out there in the pine forests. WOULDN'T YOU THINK THAT ANYTHING THAT IS AS HEAVY AS YOU HAVE ESTIMATED AND HE'S ESTIMATED WOULD LEAVE SOME KIND OF TRACKS? Yeah, but he said there was nothing there that he could see. I asked him if he could write all this down for me, but he didn't want to do that. So, I asked him if we could back all this up. I told him I would write all this up and give him a call and he could come over and sign it. And he didn't want to do that. He said, "I know who you are. I know what you've been doing with the panther research and I really admire you for your work. But I'm not going to get involved. I could lose my job." Click.
Climate / Ecology:

Precip: DEVILS GARDEN 2.4 2.6 3.4 2.1 4.1 10.0 7.5 7.9 6.1 3.3 2.1 1.7 53.4
Temp: DEVILS GARDEN 62.2 63.5 67.6 71.4 75.7 79.3 81.1 81.3 80.2 75.7 69.4 64.2 72.7
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Ecology: Missing

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IBS Report #: 1182

Location: HENDRY county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +030˚ 42' N
Longitude: 081˚ 13' W
Day: 23
Month: AUG
Year: 1997
Time: 2:30 PM
Elevation: 19

Data Source: TR96
Credibility: 2
Locality: BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE, DEVILS GARDEN
Researcher: RICHARD RICHIE
Witness: JAMES MCMULLEN

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: BF UNDER SABLE PALM FROND, DARK CHOCOLATE, 6 FT 8 IN

Sighting Text:
AND WHAT SHIFTED YOUR ATTENTION FROM THE PANTHER TO THESE ANOMALOUS SIGHTINGS BY SEVERAL EYEWITNESSES OF THIS PRIMATE CREATURE? On August 23rd, (1997) at 2:30 in the afternoon, daylight hours -- and over on the right, I glanced over to the right hand side 35 feet away -- next to trees underneath a sable palm frond was this gorilla standing there. That was the absolute first impression I got. Yeah, I was out looking for, tracking the phenomenon of Bigfoot. But I did not have it in my head that I would ever see one. I saw a gorilla! 35 feet away. AND WHAT EXACTLY WERE YOU SEEING IN DETAIL IN THAT FACE? Well, that's the interesting part. Even though I'm a researcher and have been for almost 23 years -- it was a very shocking event that was taking place and it was seconds. I would say from beginning to end, it was 35 seconds. But the actual sighting of actually seeing him was 8 to 9 seconds (meaning the Bigfoot's face). But I saw him underneath the sable palm tree. I saw what I thought was a gorilla standing up right. The thing that threw me was that it was a gorilla all the way down to the waist and then it had two long, oak tree type legs. And he was standing there with his arms hanging down along side him and could see his chest moving up and down, breathing very hard. WHEN YOU SAY TWO LONG OAK TREE TYPE LEGS, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Well, backtracking a little bit. Knowing gorillas, seeing pictures of them and seeing them on the Discovery Channel -- they are huge down to the waist and suddenly they have these little skinny bowed legs -- there is not much to their legs at all. Well, this particular species did not have the small bowed legs. It had long human like legs and both of the legs were covered with a deep, dark chocolate fur or hair on them. But they were long. They weren't short or bowed. They were long which made this species exceptionally tall. LIKE ABOUT? Well, I measured it. After the incident, I went back the next day and went to where he was standing and measured up under the sable palm where the top of his head was and that went 6 feet 8 inches, conservatively. His face was back up in the shadow, but the sun was shining on the top rear of his head. It had a sloped back, sort of cone-shaped head, it sloped back and you could see short fur -- with the sun shining on it, it was lighter brown than what was on the rest of the body. So, I didn't really see his face. It was all shadowed in there. I could see the outline, but I couldn't see his eyes and nose. I couldn't see his face. WHAT ABOUT HANDS? Well, his arms were hanging down along the side of his body, extremely long arms and hands. The fir was longer on the arms. It was a male and I say it because you could see his chest and there were no breasts on the chest and no hair up on his pectorals or down on his stomach. But I have to tell you that the skin was colored with kind of caramel color. It wasn't black or white. It was like caramel. I could definitely see that. AND IT WAS SKIN NOT COVERED WITH HAIR? From the angle I was looking at 35 feet, him standing in shadow with a little bit of sunlight there, I could not see any hair on his pectorals or stomach, but the hair picked up at his hips and legs. Longer hair on the arms and on the body, it seemed. AND YOU COULD SEE THAT HAIRLESS CHEST MOVING AS IF... He was breathing hard. I could see his chest heaving. I was both fascinated at what I was looking at, but also frightened. I was glad I was inside the van. If I had been walking up through there 35 feet away, I wonder what he would have done? And wondering after all this when I calmed down a little bit, what was he doing there standing there to begin with? He wasn't there when I went down there to begin with -- or at least I didn't see him standing there before. But when I came back up, there he was standing there. He could have been back further in the trees. MAYBE HE WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE NOISE OF YOUR TRUCK? I'll bet you money that's right. Some people said the van would scare him off, but it didn't. It was like I was hit with an electric wire -- my whole body was in super stun from it. And I panicked --I didn't know I did it unconsciously -- my foot hit the gas and I surged ahead and then slammed on the brake and put it in reverse and went back to where he was and he was gone. BUT DID YOU FIND ANY TRACKS? Even when I went back the next day, there were no tracks underneath the sable palm. Where he was standing, there was high level grass -- even the next day it was all pushed down. But there were no tracks there. So, what I did was super back track him from there. I spent the whole day out there. I didn't get one track. Not until 13 months later did I finally get a track and I can't really tell you that those tracks were of my sighting in the tree line. AND 13 MONTHS LATER IS WHEN?
Climate / Ecology:

Precip: DEVILS GARDEN 2.4 2.6 3.4 2.1 4.1 10.0 7.5 7.9 6.1 3.3 2.1 1.7 53.4
Temp: DEVILS GARDEN 62.2 63.5 67.6 71.4 75.7 79.3 81.1 81.3 80.2 75.7 69.4 64.2 72.7
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Ecology: SABLE PALM

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IBS Report #: 933

Location: HERNANDO county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +028˚ 32' N
Longitude: 082˚ 22' W
Day:
Month:
Year: 1969-1980
Time: 2 AM
Elevation: 150

Data Source: TR88
Credibility: 1
Locality: BETWEEN BROOKSVILLE AND SPRING HILL
Researcher: WITNESS
Witness: WITNESS

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: SILVER COLORED BF SITTING ON WOOD PILE, TRACKS, FENCES PUSHED DOWN, BF REPORTE PLAYING ON CHILDS SWING

Sighting Text:
FL HERNANDO 1969-80 TR#88 * Hernando County, Florida, between Brooksville and Spring Hill. Events took place between 1969-1980. Over the 11 year period Bigfoot tracks were found, fences with barbed wire pushed down and wrapped with moss and lodged over by sticks. If you repaired them, they would be back down by the next morning. A pony had her mane tied in the fence, and other horses would stand by the hour staring at the woods. There were at the time four square miles of woods and pastures with no roads. Tracks were found in the field. The roof had been removed from more than one dog house. The neighbors had stock attacked. Dogs in the kennel started to bark at 2AM one morning. As witness went out the back door he glanced towards the small dog house of mother’s Chihuahua. A “being” was sitting on the wood pile. It was described as a large silver-colored creature and all it did was calmly watch witness. Witness talked to old-timer neighbors and they said several creatures had been seen over the years. A friend at animal control at the time said there was a report of a creature coming out of a gully that ran through town and was playing on a child’s swing..
Climate / Ecology:

Precip: BROOKSVILLE 2.7 3.1 3.8 2.9 3.9 8.0 9.0 8.8 6.7 3.1 2.0 2.5 56.5
Temp: BROOKSVILLE 59.2 60.4 66.2 70.9 76.3 79.9 81.0 80.8 79.5 73.6 66.7 61.3 71.2
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Ecology: Missing

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IBS Report #: 138

Location: MARION county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +029˚ 13' N
Longitude: 081˚ 42' W
Day:
Month:
Year: 1990
Time:
Elevation: 85

Data Source:
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Locality:
Researcher:
Witness:

Sighting Type: 1
Summary:

Sighting Text:
FL,Marion,29,13,81,42,11,Jan,1990,11:15AM,85,TR#43-Jan’95,5, Sighting,Juniper Prairie; Ocala National Forest;sunny;dead grass;pine trees, Black BF stands up then bends back down;sprints for forest, * Anonymous letter to Peter Byrne; BIGFOOT RESEARCH PROJECT; Oct. 8; 1994. Wildlife photographer working at Juniper Prairie; Ocala National Forest; Florida; January 11; 1990; 11:15 AM; bright and sunny; 75 degrees. The long prairie was chest high with dead grass of a light tan color. I came around a corner and there was a very large black shape; about 200 yards ahead of me. It was not moving and at first I though it was a stump; but my tent was a 100 yards to the left of this thing; and I knew that it had not been there when I left this morning. It was at this point that it bent back down; I saw another pine tree twenty of so yards ahead and I sprinted for the tree. About half way there this bear stood back up looking in my direction...I knew that I was spotted. I had a 135 mm lens on the camera and looked through the lens and it was still only a small image. Having three shots in the camera I watched through the lens and it spun around to look at the fringe of the woods. I expected the bear to drop down on all fours and sprint the 50 or so yards to the woods. I prepared to shoot when it headed for the woods running like a man on two legs swinging its arms. Its arms were almost to its knees. My mouth fell open and I went into shock and never snapped the lens. Night came and about 1:30 AM something let out this blood curdling scream. I have spent a thousand nights in the woods; and am trained to observe animals in the woods. I know what lives there and what everything sounds like. I had never heard anything like this...ever. About a minute later it did it again. I knew that it had to be what I had seen earlier in the day. It continued to screech about once a minute for about 30 minutes. I picked up my walking stick and flashlight and left my tent and started to follow the call. Thinking back on this I must of been insane; however I felt no fear. I followed these screeches for about 20 minutes without seeing anything., inches 2.83.33.73.33.97.27.97.45.72.92.12.552.9 Ocala °F 57.459.465.570.375.980.181.581.379.272.565.359.470.7 Begin civil twilight 11:56 Sunrise 12:22 Sun transit 17:35 Sunset 22:48 End civil twilight 23:13 Moonrise 22:21 on preceding day Moon transit 05:38 Moonset 12:48 Moonrise 23:28 Moonset 13:30 on following day Full Moon on 11 January 1990 at 04:57 Universal Time.,
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Ecology: Missing

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IBS Report #: 464

Location: MONROE county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +025˚ 00' N
Longitude: 080˚ 31' W
Day: 14
Month: JULY
Year: 1977
Time:
Elevation: 6

Data Source: “Bigfoot All Over The Country;” 1978;
Credibility: 2
Locality: Vicinity Tavernier
Researcher: PLACE
Witness: Charles Stoeckman, SON

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: Dark hairy patch; odor,vocaliations;bright colorless eyes reflecting;sable color

Sighting Text:
FL,Monroe,25,00,80,31,14,Jul,1977,t,11,Place78,3, Sighting,Vicinity Tavernier, Dark hairy patch; odor,vocaliations;bright colorless eyes reflecting;sable color, July 14; 1977. Charles Stoeckman of Tavernier; FL; former policeman; Vietnam vet; hunting. Son; 13; saw dark hairy patch in flickering sunlight; could smell it; stunk something awful. It backed slowly off into jungle. High pitched cries. Next day saw again. Several nights later while in bed Stoeckman looked into back yard where night light was and saw the bright colorless eyes reflecting light. Could see silhouette of huge shulders and head. Two policemen also saw. In poor light appeared sable color. Ran into mangroves. ,
Climate / Ecology:

Precip: TAVERNIER 2.1 2.0 1.8 2.1 4.4 6.8 4.2 5.0 6.7 6.6 2.6 2.0 46.3
Temp: TAVERNIER 69.3 70.2 73.6 76.6 79.9 82.2 84.0 84.2 82.8 79.3 75.2 71.1 77.4
Sun: Begin civil twilight 10:16 Sunrise 10:41 Sun transit 17:28 Sunset 00:14 on following day End civil twilight 00:40 on following day Thursday 14 July 1977 Universal Time Moonset 22:07 on preceding day Moonrise 09:16 Moon transit 16:06 Moonset 22:54 Moonrise 10:06 on following day Phase of the Moon on 14 July: waning crescent with 3% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. New Moon on 16 July 1977 at 08:37 Universal Time.,
Snow:
Ecology: MANGROVES

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IBS Report #: 800

Location: OSCEOLA county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +027˚ 56' N
Longitude: 081˚ 07' W
Day: 22
Month: NOV
Year: 1998
Time: 1:30 PM
Elevation:

Data Source: TR83
Credibility: 2
Locality: Three Lakes Wildlife Management area, Keenansville,
Researcher: Steven R. J
Witness: Steven R. J

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 2 BF SEEN, 6' 5

Sighting Text:
FL OSCEOLA 1998 TR#83 27 56 N 081 07W * From Internet. VMZT55D@PRODIGY.COM Steven R. J, of Fort Pierce, FL (37), on 11/22 at 1:30 PM had a 30 second encounter with Bigfoot at Three Lakes Wildlife Management area, Keenansville, FL. Steven and his partner saw two Bigfeet, a male and a female, heading toward a palmetto scrub. It was fair, partly cloudy weather and 80 degrees. There were large oaks and the ground was covered with acorns. The area dry and sandy and had a heavy palmetto shrub growth near a deep cypress swamp. Tracks were not found in the area of dry leaves and acorns. The taller buckskin or lighter brown 6.5 foot male was walking hunched over, and then the 5’5” female with breasts came into view. It was completely black with breasts and was carrying something around the waist with both hands. They were in the 200 pound range, minimum. Their speed picked up somewhat when they saw the witnesses, but they made no sounds and there was no odor.
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Ecology: palmetto scrub. It was fair, partly cloudy weather, LARGE OAKS ON GROUND COVERED WITH ACORNS

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IBS Report #: 1093

Location: OSCEOLA county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +027˚ 56' N
Longitude: 081˚ 07' W
Day: 2
Month: JAN
Year: 1999
Time:
Elevation:

Data Source: TR94
Credibility: 3
Locality: NEAR THREE LAKES MANAGEMENT AREA, OSCEOLA
Researcher: BFRO
Witness: R.F.

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 8-9 FT BF SEEN, CONE HEAD, 4-600#, ODOR, TRACKS SEEN

Sighting Text:
FL OSCEOLA 1999 TR94 275615N 0810728W BFRO* Jan 2, 1999, R.F. was near Three Lakes Management Area, Osceola, FL. he was in a tree stand hunting just before a storm as it was overcast. The area is a pine forest with oak hammocks, swamps, and has a sandy soil. He noticed a creature walking at high speed, but not running. There was a pungent odor like a zoo where elephants or large animals stay. The 8-9 foot black creature, hunched over had a human silhouette, a cone-shape head, and broad shoulders. It weighed about 4-600 pounds with no noticeable waist-line. There were footprints and a fellow hunter in another location also had seen tracks.
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Ecology: OVERCAST, PINE FOREST WITH OAK HAMMOCKS, SWAMPS, SANDY SOIL