YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: December

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Clay County

LOCATION DETAILS: Hwy 21 south to Dade Road in Camp Blanding,right on Cemetary Rd to Wilson Rd,approx, 300 yards on the right,then approx.500 yards into the woods.

NEAREST TOWN: Middleburg

NEAREST ROAD: S R 16

OBSERVED: I was out hunting small game in Camp Blanding,on the still hunt side,close to Cemetary Road,I had a friend of mine about 150 yards to my right and about 30-40 yards in front.I saw something running between us,going from my right to in front of me,it was between the two of us.It stopped about 50-60 yards in front of me and turned and looked at me,I stood looking trying to figure out what I was seeing for maybe 30 seconds,I then got down on one knee,and watched about 45 seconds,it turned to its right,my left,and was gone.It was a dark brown,allmost black,running kinda like an old man that had back problems,bent over a little at the waist.It was on two legs,not four as all other animals in the woods have.I could see the arms moving as it ran,just as a man's would when he is running.I am 6 foot tall,I walked to the spot I saw it,loooking at the tree it was beside,and was looking to see if I could tell how tall it was.From what I could tell from what I saw,it stood about 7 foot tall.I looked for any tracks,found none as it was a swamp,nothing but water,but you could see evidence that something was there from the way the grass in the water was laid over.I called to my friend,asked if he saw anything,he said no.We both started walking,hunting more,all the while I was thinking about what I saw.We walked approx. 1/2 mile from where I saw whatever it was,and he saw a VERY large pile of feces on the ground,we both looked at it for a while,poking at it with sticks,trying to figure out what kind of animal it could have come from.We both have hunted for over 35 years each,and have never seen anything like this.We saw alot of grassy materials,and alot of berries in it.No hair,bones,or anything that you would see from most carnivores in the woods.

OTHER WITNESSES: No witness to sighting but to feces that was found.

OTHER STORIES: I was looking on this site and saw where someone else saw something in Camp Blanding,so I decided to let you know about mine.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: During the morning time,around 8 to 830am,clear skies,a little cool outside,maybe around 50F.

ENVIRONMENT: Swamp

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator David Wright:

This witness was interviewed on 10/10/10 by phone for just over an hour. The sighting occurred in the vicinity of several other sightings in Clay County, and in an area that this investigator is very familiar with. The witness reiterated his account in a narrative that was very similar to his report. In the interview that followed his narrative, the following additional information was gleaned;

-The actual length of the sighting was 30--45 seconds, with about a third of that being watching the creature running. He stated that the creature covered about 75 yards throughout the sighting.

-The witness estimated the height at around 7' with an estimated weight of 350-400 lbs. He stated that it did appear to have "a belly".

-Concerning the creature's torso, he stated that it looked lanky while running, caused by longish arms, but when it stopped; it looked big and thick, with "arms as big around as my legs".

-He estimated its shoulder width of at least 3'.

-He stated that it was covered with what he would describe as hair rather than fur, of dark brown to black in color that was long and matted or nappy.

-When it stopped, it looked in his direction for quite a number of seconds. He could distinguish a face with shorter hair than the body, and a face that he described as "bull doggish". He described its skin as dark. He described its head as ovalish or somewhat melon shaped. He did not describe visible ears per say, but did acknowledge an ear-like visage in that area.

-He did not describe a visible neck, but did state that that area of its torso was like a football lineman, with possibly a very thick neck area.

-He described the arm length as "pretty long", longer proportionally than that of a human. He did see large hands.

-He described its leg length as slightly shorter proportionally than humans. He did not see feet.

-Concerning the creature's gait, he described it as "hauling ass", as though it was trying to vacate the area in a hurry. He described it as running somewhat like an old man, hunched over in stature, bent at the waist, like a soldier might run through a dangerous combat zone.

-No odor was noticed.

-The witness stated that he and his partner reunited and shortly thereafter came upon "the biggest pile of crap I've ever seen in my life! I mean, it would have taken 5-6 grown men to produce such a pile!" He stated that the diameter approximated that of human scat, maybe slightly larger, and that the pile was 8"-10" across and 4-5" tall. He stated that they examined it extensively, poking and digging through it with sticks trying to determine its origin or to establish some degree of familiarity with its type. He was asked specifically if it resembled bear scat which both he and his hunting buddy have extensive experience seeing, to which he responded strongly in the negative. He stated that it contained no hair or bone matter, but did contain berries and berry seeds and undigested grass. He stated that it was gray and clay-like.

As a bow hunter and life-long outdoorsman, this investigator got the distinct impression that this witness is a highly experienced outdoorsman and hunter with extensive time and experience in these woods. He was found to be very credible and answered all questions very matter-of-factly with authority and conviction. Based on this interview and other sightings in this area, it is the conviction of this investigator that this witness had a Class A sighting of a Florida Skunk Ape creature.

About BFRO Investigator David Wright:

• Certified Florida Master Naturalist (U. of Florida)
  
• Visual Tracker, Level 1
• Teaches Biology, A.P. Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Science at a rural high school SE of Jacksonville
• See local TV interview with D. Wright
• Participated in the 2007 Private Florida Expedition [Click the video link on that page.], the 2007 South Carolina Expedition, the 2008 South Florida Expedition and assisted with the organization of the 2008 North Florida Expedition. Assisted with the organization of the 2009 Central Florida Expedition.

• Explanation of the report classification system
• Submit a report for the sightings database
• Please send any comments or inquiries to ContactUs@BFRO.net