Personally I haven't subscribed to the belief of coverups, but after reading this article, I'm seriously having second thoughts about that idea.
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor...218301559.shtmlQUOTE
Mystery creature in Baker County not monkey or Bigfoot - likely just a squirrel
By ADAM AASEN, The Times-Union
Stories of an orange, furry animal in the woods of Baker County eating up jelly doughnuts and resembling an orangutan - and mythbusters forbid, even Bigfoot - spread like wildfire as media got a hold of the tale.
Turns out all the hoopla was probably about an orange phase fox squirrel, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Friday.
Fish and Wildlife investigator Ken Holmes said the creature is not behaving like a primate, especially with its nocturnal activity.
"I'm not discounting anything. However, this creature, whatever it may be, simply isn't acting like a primate," Holmes said in a statement.
On Oct. 30, Holmes said he got a call about the mystery animal stealing the sweet snacks from a bear hunter who lives near Macclenny. Holmes looked into the tall pine tree and saw something 100 feet up moving around but couldn't confirm if it was an ape, squirrel, monkey, raccoon or even a cat.
So Holmes decided to lay doughnuts at the base of the tree to lure the creature out. The animal left but wasn't seen or captured.
From the way he was eating the doughnuts, Holmes said it probably wasn't an ape.
"Orangutans are messy eaters. If the animal were an orangutan, you would expect to find pieces of donuts or fruit scattered all over the place, rather than just neatly nibbled," Holmes said.
Holmes said it's very unlikely someone in the area owned an orangutan, which requires a commercial permit in Florida. He said he's seen a lot of unusual animals owned in captivity such as tigers and chimpanzees, but orangutans are expensive to own.
"I'll be astonished if it's an orangutan. I can quite confidently say it's probably not an orangutan," he said.
Earlier this month, Baker County Animal Control received a report of two men seeing an ape in a tree off Harry Rewis Road in Macclenny, Parker said.
Tina Thomas, an animal control officer in Baker County, said she saw an orange-colored ape sitting in a tree that was "much larger than a spider monkey."
A Bigfoot research commission also called Holmes to ask about the creature.
Holmes told the Times-Union Friday afternoon that it's interesting how these rumors get started. He said once a woman called him about a full African lion - mane and all - in her bushes. Turns out it was a chow dog.
"I told her I guess I could see that at 1 in the morning it's pretty dark and you could make a mistake," he said.
Holmes said he doesn't want to say anyone is lying but "the mind can play tricks on you" and animals can look like a lot of different things depending on the viewpoint.
adam.aasen@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4247
http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?act...=41&t=20915If you go back to this link
Interview with Tina Thomas Animal Control Officer and watch the video on the right side of the page, you'll hear what Ms. Thomas actually said.
Her statement was the man said there was a "Monkey" in his tree.
She said she used binoculars and saw the entire body of the "Ape"
She estimated it at 3-4 feet in length and weighing 50 pounds.
She said it was red with a lighter colored face.
QUOTE
Holmes said he doesn't want to say anyone is lying but "the mind can play tricks on you" and animals can look like a lot of different things depending on the viewpoint.
Considering Ms. Thomas claims to have seen the Entire Body, it would be hard to understand how she could have overlooked a TAIL as long and bushy as a fox squirrel's tail is.
Click to view attachmentA Fox Squirrel reaches a maxium of 27 inches long and 13 inches of that is it's tail, and weighs around three pounds. Even at 100 feet away, which is the estimated height it was in the tree I think most people especially looking through binoculars could tell a squirrel when they saw one. They certainly don't look like an ape, are nowhere near 50 pounds in weight and if she didn't see the tail it meant she was only looking at a body 14 inches long which is certainly not 3 or 4 feet long.
QUOTE
On Oct. 30, Holmes said he got a call about the mystery animal stealing the sweet snacks from a bear hunter who lives near Macclenny. Holmes looked into the tall pine tree and saw something 100 feet up moving around but couldn't confirm if it was an ape, squirrel, monkey, raccoon or even a cat.
That's an awful wide range of sizes of animals he couldn't confirm from 3 - 50+ pounds. He couldn't tell if it was big or small? Who knows maybe he's catching heat for leaving the scene instead of staying there to verify exactly what it was. If it turns out to be an Orangutan and he allowed a possibly dangerous animal to roam free instead of capturing it? If someone gets hurt would the state now be liable since they had the opportunity to capture it?
- never do that again!
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