What is the difference between Bigfoot and Skunk Ape?

The Skunk Ape is often called Florida's Bigfoot. It is reported in the swamps of the Everglades and Big Cypress rather than mountain forests, and it is best known for one thing above all: the smell. Where: Bigfoot is reported across North America, most in the Pacific Northwest. Skunk Ape reports come almost only from Florida's swamps. Size: the Skunk Ape is usually described as smaller, around 5 to 7 feet, compared with Bigfoot's 7 to 9.

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Bigfoot Skunk Ape

Bigfoot vs Skunk Ape: what's the difference?

The Skunk Ape is often called Florida's Bigfoot. It is reported in the swamps of the Everglades and Big Cypress rather than mountain forests, and it is best known for one thing above all: the smell.

Side by side

BigfootSkunk Ape

Also calledSasquatch, Skookum, Wood ape, Forest giantFlorida Bigfoot, Swamp cabbage man, Stink ape, Myakka skunk ape

WherePacific Northwest, Appalachia, the Great Lakes and the South; reported in every US state but Hawaii, and across CanadaFlorida: the Everglades, Big Cypress and the Panhandle swamps

First reportedIndigenous names such as Sasq'ets (Halkomelem) long predate the 1958 "Bigfoot" headline from Bluff Creek, CaliforniaReports climbed through the 1960s and 70s

Size7 to 9 ft tall, 500 to 800 lb (estimated)5 to 7 ft

HabitatRemote mixed forest near waterCypress swamp, hammocks and sawgrass

SignsFootprints 14 to 18 inches long, often with a mid-foot flex; Wood knocks and rock clacks at night; Whoops, howls and "Samurai chatter" vocalizationsOverwhelming rotten-egg or skunk smell; Tracks in swamp mud; Shapes crossing roads at night in Big Cypress

Famous cases56

Witness stories361

The big differences

Where: Bigfoot is reported across North America, most in the Pacific Northwest. Skunk Ape reports come almost only from Florida's swamps.
Size: the Skunk Ape is usually described as smaller, around 5 to 7 feet, compared with Bigfoot's 7 to 9.
Smell: some Bigfoot witnesses mention a bad smell. For the Skunk Ape it's the defining feature: rotten eggs, skunk or a dead animal.
Habitat: cypress swamp, hammocks and sawgrass instead of mixed forest and mountains.

Could they be the same thing?

Many researchers treat the Skunk Ape as a regional name for Bigfoot, the way people in the South also talk about the 'wood booger' or the Fouke Monster. Others think the hot, wet swamps would need a different animal. Like Bigfoot, there's no body or confirmed DNA.

Which one did you see?

Probably Bigfoot if…

Mountain or northern forest
7 to 9 feet tall, massive shoulders
Smell is mentioned sometimes

Probably Skunk Ape if…

Swamp, Everglades or Big Cypress
5 to 7 feet, often seen crossing roads at night
An overwhelming stink is the first thing people notice

Seen something like this? Report your encounter All about Bigfoot All about Skunk Ape