Louisiana’s Bigfoot: Does the Skunk Ape Exist?

Does the name hominid cryptid mean anything to you? Well, maybe you know good old Mr. Cryptid by his more common name, Bigfoot, or, as the legendary creature is known in central and north Louisiana, the Skunk Ape.

Smells Like Rotten Eggs

The legendary Louisiana Skunk Ape is said to belong to the same blood line as Bigfoot or Sasquatch, the difference being its odor, said to be that of rotten eggs or sulpher. Witnesses say the Ape is resembles a large orangutan or gorilla, walks upright like a human and is usually between six and seven feet tall.

Sightings Through the Years

Stories of the Skunk Ape pre-date the arrival of the white man in this area. The first recorded Skunk Ape story is an 1850s newspaper report from central Louisiana detailing the sighting of 'a tall, wild man covered in hair'.

Sightings were intermittent through the remainder of the 19th and into the 20th century, but for reasons unknown to scientists, that number increased dramatically in the 1970s and into the 80s. During that time Skunk Ape sightings closest to our area occurred in north central Louisiana and southern Arkansas.

Skunk Ape Hit By Car?

Then, in August 2000, a driver near Trout (in LaSalle Parish) reported hitting a large man in a fur coat with his vehicle. The impact caused a great deal of damage to the car, but despite an extensive search, police couldn't find the victim. Other sightings in that area have been reported, the most recent in 2006 in the Cotton Island Swamp, about 20 miles from Trout.

Reports of Skunk Ape sightings continue, as do skepticism regarding the creatures existence. Though alleged photographic evidence exists, no Skunk Ape body has ever been found nor has one ever been captured.