Skunk Ape festival draws crowd of believers, skeptics

June 12, 2005

Naples, FL

By TRACY X. MIGUEL

tmiguel@naplesnews.com

Naples Daily News

The four-wheeler was about triple 7-year-old Erica Burkard's size, yet that didn't intimidate her from climbing onto the swamp buggy.

As the tires splashed through the water and crushed the limestone-covered road, the noise got louder and louder at the Trail Lakes Campground in Ochopee.

And the ride got bumpier.

Erica and her sister, Tori Long, 13, sat shoulder-to-shoulder, laughing each time the swamp buggy, owned and driven by Trail Lakes Campground resident Steve Cribbs, 51, tilted to the side.

"We are going down ... wow ... wow," said Erica.

"Hold on," said their aunt, Sandy Long.

It was the first time the youngsters, both of Ohio, who were on vacation in Naples, had seen Ochopee and ridden such a big-wheeler.

It was also the first time they'd heard the tales which have circulated locally for decades of South Florida's skunk ape, a homegrown counterpart of Bigfoot in the Northwest, during the third annual Everglades Skunk Ape Festival.

Despite never having seen a skunk ape and unsure if she believed in it, Naples resident Sandy Long, 30, said they were having a good time.

The festival, hosted by David Shealy, Collier County's skunk ape expert, attracted more than 30 believers and skeptics to a day of live music of Kimberly Lamp, of Copeland, food and a Ms. Skunk Ape contest, at the Trail Lakes Campground on Saturday.

Shealy said he was disappointed with the afternoon turnout, but he expected more than 100 people to attend by the end of the festival.

"The crowd is a little bit small, but the people who do come are die-hards," he said.

Shealy's first sighting of the skunk ape was 30 years ago. He was 10 years old, and he and his brother, Jack, were out hunting when they saw it. The skunk ape has characteristics that make it different from Bigfoot. It weighs about 300 pounds, has reddish-brown hair, is 7 feet tall and has a distinctive odor.

Since then, Shealy has devoted his time to showing his videos and pictures of the skunk ape to the public.

In the past, Shealy has appeared on TV shows such as "Inside Edition," "Extra" and "Unsolved Mysteries."

This year, there have been two sightings of the skunk ape in the Big Cypress National Preserve and County Road 92 heading toward Marco Island, said Shealy. The sightings weren't by Shealy.

Shealy said that he would like to get support from local businesses and the county for the festival.

Yet Shealy isn't the only person who believes in the skunk ape.

Among attendees was Jason Kauntze-Cockburn, of West Palm Beach, who saw Shealy on "Unsolved Mysteries" and decided to make the trip to Ochopee.

At 41, Kauntze-Cockburn calls himself a skeptical believer.

"I've been intrigued in Bigfoot since I was 10 years old," said Kauntze-Cockburn.

Kauntze-Cockburn said he has looked for Bigfoot all around the country and looked at things that people claim as evidence, but he admits that the so-called evidence could be from a bear or a deer.

"I believe it, but I still need you to prove it to me," he said.

URL:

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_3849199,00.htm

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Tracy Boulian/Staff

photo

Tori Long, 13, right, laughs as her sister, Erica Burkard, 7, left, dances to the music of Kimberly Lamp, a singer, songwriter and guitar player from Copeland, during the Skunk Ape Festival at Trail Lakes Campground in Ochopee on Saturday. The girls, both from Ohio, were staying in Naples for the summer with their aunt, a resident of Naples. The day included music, swamp buggy rides and more.