“Keep your eyes open at night when driving around Ocala National Forest that’s all I can Tell anyone ..”
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word cryptid as “An animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti.” For the following witnesses to living cryptids, there is no dispute. In this series of National Cryptid Society’s case files, you will read what the witnesses have experienced in their own words.
Keep an open mind when reading these accounts, and also remember one’s perception and memory of an event can be influenced by the emotions felt at the time of the occurrence. The contributors to this series of articles are doing the best they can to recount what are in some cases very shocking and traumatic experiences.
Submitted by Jeffrey
Location: Ocala National Forest, Florida
Date: December 2016
“I was driving down to my home in E Naples Florida from Long Island, NY. I had left that morning at 630 am in rental car from airport. I was driving non stop just Gasing up, I had made to Florida border in about 13 hrs using Google maps to navigate. It took across from east coast to west to Interstate 75 on 40 through Ocala National Forest I had never been through this way as far as I know. I was following my navigation .I estimate it was between 11:00 pm and midnight. I had just been noticing how i was in such a rural open are. It seemed like I was in middle of nowhere. I noticed a bright moon and it did seem kind of eerie. I was driving on a this two lane road in the middle of nowhere.
I had the thought hope my car doesn’t break down here within a short time I saw what I can best describe looked like an orangutan 3.5 – 4 feet waving long arms as it scurried to avoid my car, I just missed hitting it I could see how it sped up to just make it passed my car I was moving between 50 -65 mph But the thing that really freaked me out at the moment was as it passed my car it turned its head and I clearly had the feeling of its intelligence and expression as it gave me the impression of a look that you almost hit me a#$hole. I thought I saw and Alien or ET. It clearly had some kind of intelligence it disturbed me for years. In a discussion with someone interested in bigfoot in conversational at work up in Northeast I told him story I had never heard of Skunk Ape stories or had any knowledge of any legends of anything in Florida. When he heard story he immediately said he presumed and believed I had seen Skunk Ape and believed me.
So I went on internet to see what information was out there. Found Dave Healy info and descriptions and legends of Skunk Ape. The one thing i found that was interesting is there are some descriptions of it being kinda of orange with long arms and of juveniles. I don’t think it was an adult I didn’t see any others. The memory has stayed with me I was definitely not seeing things it was no bear and if there are no orangutan in Florida what was it? It clearly walked upright had long arms and seemed to have an intelligence the way it turned and looked at me.
I just wanted to convey my weird occurrence, I wished know I had stopped and taken down more details of location and other details but it was kind of frightening also, just being in such a remote area alone. Keep your eyes open at night when driving around Ocala National Forest that’s all I can Tell anyone ..”
Below is a NCS video with another encounter in Ocala National Forest where the witness had to narrowly avoid hitting a long-haired chimp-like creature in their vehicle.
Skunk Ape Sighting Near Ocala National Forest, Florida
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