Sightings Increase as Skunk Ape Headquarters Voted Among Best U.S. Roadside Attractions

Shealy’s Skunk Ape Headquarters in Ochopee was voted Number Two in the U.S. and Number One in Florida in USA Today’s 10 best roadside attractions this May, leading to an increase in sightings of the mythical hairy man-like primate. 

“This has been huge for us,” said Jack Shealy, current owner of the Skunk Ape operations located in eastern Collier County. “And it’s great for Dad running a t-shirt shop in the Everglades,” said the fifth-generation Gladesman, ecotour guide and namesake of the southern rock and soul Jack Shealy Band.

Founder of the Skunk Ape Headquarters, dad David Shealy, shared an important message for those looking to get a glimpse of what may be the area’s most endangered species as he recounted key aspects of researching the elusive man-primate creature for 50 years.

Following the rules and showing respect for the Everglades area are critical for tourists and enthusiasts enjoying their time, Shealy said.

That includes making sure to get your Skunk Ape permit in the Headquarters’ store, located on U.S. 41 east of State Road 29 so that it is updated for the 2024-2025 season before you head out to the swamps looking for the Skunk Ape. 

The spike in visitors and sightings continues to increase this June, Shealy said. 

Shealy has been touting 2024 as the “Year of the Skunk Ape,” and the recent rankings are moving that initiative forward, bringing Skunk Ape Headquarters into the limelight.

"Out of the blue came this roadside attraction thing. I didn’t even expect it,” said Shealy.

The top 10 list is based on readers’ rankings in online polls and reveals that Collier County’s rural Big Cypress can be as big of a draw as its urban areas and beaches.

Reported sightings of the strong-odored ape-man, believed to be a genetic offshoot of Bigfoot, have soared locally, as have visits to the Headquarters since news of the roadside rankings made national news on May 15. 

Shealy encourages skunk ape enthusiasts to continue visiting and searching but also urges visitors to follow the rules of the Big Cypress National Preserve and nearby Everglades National Park, as well as honor the customs of the locals.

“This has brought droves of people here, and when they say, ‘we’re looking for Skunk Apes,’ that comes down on me,” Shealy said. 

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Indigenous people. Many haven’t met an Indigenous person in their life,” Shealy said. “I want the people to come and be a part of looking and learning about the Everglades ecosystem and the culture we have here,” he added.

Some of the oldest stories of the Skunk Ape describe the animal as a protector of the Glades. In this light, it’s important to honor the animal and the area.

“People came knocking on doors in the reservation asking if they’d seen a Skunk ape,” Shealy said. 

Shealy discourages that type of investigation and instead encourages people to adventure safely and respectfully. Along with getting an updated Skunk Ape Permit, which is a sticker good for a vehicle or held in the pocket, “Shealy’s Everglades Skunk Ape Research Field Guide” can aid in a serious Skunk Ape search. 

The Skunk Ape Headquarters was established in 1961 and continues to be the home or base camp of the Shealy family for five generations of Gladesmen. The HQ includes an animal exhibit, pole boat tours and the Shealy’s’ Trail Lakes Campground, which has tent sites, RV hookups, and Indigenous-built chickee huts.

Although the permit mentions hunting, the Shealy’s don’t recommend harming a Skunk Ape. It’s said if you do, you are not likely to make it out of the Everglades alive, David said. 

In 1977, a bill was proposed in Florida to make it illegal to harass or harm a skunk ape, but it didn’t pass. Shealy estimates fewer than 10 of the large hairy man-like animals exist in the South Florida Everglades area spanning Naples to Miami and north of Fort Myers. 

Florida’s skunk ape is different than the Bigfoot as a smaller species, often a reddish-brown color, but also reported in other colors, including black, brown, white, and gray, according to research collected by Shealy and other online accounts. It is smaller, often reported at about 7 feet tall and 300-400 pounds, compared with the taller Bigfoot weighing as many as 800 pounds. Most distinctly, the Everglades Skunk Ape has four toes instead of five reported on the Bigfoot in other areas of North America, Shealy said.

Skunk Ape has been mistaken for an escaped zoo orangutan, despite Skunk Apes being much larger. The Skunk Ape similarly makes nests and beds in trees, Shealy said. That’s when the animals are not spending time in alligator holes, which reek of sulfur and methane, contributing to the Skunk Ape’s distinctive scent.

Shealy has seen Skunk Apes on four occasions beginning at age 10 with his older brother Jack. By then, the boys had already heard of the Skunk Ape from their father, also named Jack, who had found a track not long before their sighting near their property in Ochopee. 

Shealy then had a sighting in 1997 that led to a series of 27 photographs he took; a 15-minute sighting in 2000 with a video of a Skunk Ape that circulated worldwide and a sighting several years later of a mother Skunk Ape and her two babies north of I-75, all in the same general vicinity near his Ochopee home. 

Many of the recent sightings have been along Loop Road, which is a few miles southeast of the Headquarters along U.S. 41. and spans approximately 24 miles across three counties: Collier, Monroe and Miami-Dade. Sightings have been reported in Naples, Golden Gate Estates, Fort Myers, Key West and in northern areas of the state. Usually, Shealy said he learns about 12 sightings per year, but that has spiked since the rankings were released. 

“If you spend enough time looking, I would imagine that you're going to find something, no matter what it is you're looking for,” said Shealy.