Florida Rangers Watched Possible Skunk Ape And Didn't Know It

A friend and I had towed my canoe from Okeechobee to Lake Park to paddle the water catchment area EQQ. It was early morning before 8AM. We were told we had to rent a canoe and couldn't go out by ourselves, had to go one a guided trip. I grew up in the area and had covered on foot, horse, swamp buggy, canoe, etc. But they ranger still wouldn't let us go. So we walked the boardwalk and I looked out to the cypress heads and squatting down at the base of a cypress tree was a dark figure. It would dig a little in the mud at the base of the tree and stand up and put a hand to it's mouth. I asked a Ranger for binoculars and she came out to look. The humidity was so high the binoculars fogged over and were useless. We watched the figure squat down and repeat, dig around, stand up and it did it over and over. Another Ranger came and my friend and I watched this motion for about five to seven minutes more then left. I have no idea how long the rangers watched it or if they saw it leave. If it turned out to be a bear that would thrill me too. No bears had been seen in Palm Beach County since 1979. But I'm sure it wasn't a bear. It stood too straight and bent at the waist and squatted at the knees like a human. A Bear doesn't bend the waist. I had forgotten about it until after I had a sighting in Okeechobee Co. I filed a report on the Okeechobee sighting and spoke with and went out to the area with an investigator. I've decided to report the first sighting because of the way Fish and Wildlife handled a sighting here in Columbia County, Fl where I now live. Big joke, lots of laughs. I take offense to that attitude. I've spent a life time in the swamps and woodlands of Florida, put in 12 years as a wildlife rehabilitator in Palm Beach County. It's pretty safe to say I know what I'm looking at. My friend and I talked about the sighting in 2006 and she said if that's what I thought we saw she was happy with it because she didn't know what it was either. I should mention she is a Veterinarian nurse, pretty familiar with animals too. Since the second sighting I've been putting a lot of research into the subject and would like to discuss ideas with other people but haven't found anyone to carry on a serious conversation with. Since the Finding Bigfoot program came on air and as more information comes out I hope to get past the jokers. The funny part is Grassy Waters is almost across the road from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission headquarters. Wonder if they had a visit? via (Link: bfro.net)