Skunk Ape
I heard voices outside my hotel room a few minutes ago and now I can’t keep my hand off the pistol Wilson gave me…if the stress doesn’t drive me crazy reading about these files might. They are called the “SKUNK APE” and “MYAKKA APE” in Florida, the “YEREN” in China, and “SISEMITE” in Belize, but SIRU calls them “Unidentified Bipedal Ape 2”. This seems to have been fairly controversial amongst the researchers as many of them felt that the existence of two bipedal relic ape populations in similar habitats (sometimes overlapping) to be too far-fetched. This group preferred the theory that like
UBA 1 SA the differences these creatures posses from standard UBA 1 are merely cosmetic. Director Krohn demanded that these creatures be treated as a separate species until proper DNA testing proved otherwise. He apparently fell into the second group that believed the more pongid appearance of UBA 2 is a result of either being a more ancient form of Gigantopithecus with UBA 1 being more evolved or being an entirely different species.
The behavior of UBA 2 is similar, if not down-right identical, to UBA 1. They prefer wetter regions, they are extremely shy, they appear omnivorous, they communicate through chirps, whistles and tree knocking, they throw rocks, they are active mostly at night. While many of the researchers used their behavior as support for being the same species as UBA 1, Krohn points out that most many of these behaviors are found in most great apes. Krohn also notes that UBA 2 is far more apelike in appearance, often being compared to an Orangutan. The tracks associated with UBA 2 also appear to have a semi-opposable “thumb” rather than the more humanlike tracks left by UBA 1. The issue is further confused by the presence of tracks that seem to fall in between those normally associated with UBA 1 and UBA 2, seemingly hinting at the possibility of interbreeding between the two populations.
Though musky odors have been associated with many encounters of UBA 1, the odors associated with UBA 2 tend to be stronger leaning more towards sulfur. One researcher put forward the possibility that the unusual odor, hence “Skunk Ape”, could be a defense mechanism or even a scent gland used in finding a mate or marking its territory. While the scent gland theory seemed to be taken seriously, the defense mechanism was not. The report ends somewhat on the fence claiming that DNA tests would need to be run to conclusively prove how closely related to UBA 1 UBA 2 might be.
Tags: Cryptid, Cryptozoology, Florida Skunk Ape, Myakka Ape