Class A First-hand BFRO #47378

Memory told of a close nighttime encounter while hunting rabbits in a rural backyard near Palm Harbor

October 1977 around 8:00 PM, dark Palm Harbor, Pinellas County, Florida 2 witnesses

Account

Late one night the witness and his father turned on yard floodlights to shoot rabbits. The witness saw a stocky fur-covered biped rise from a crouch near the treeline about 30 yards away and stride rapidly into the pine forest with its head tilted to the left. The father, facing the opposite way, only heard loud crashing exit sounds, and both later heard distant hunting dogs barking in an unusually agitated way.

Summary drafted by AI from the source report and checked by code before I publish it. The witness's own words remain with the publisher — read the original report .

What was reported

Every kind of observation in the account. Select one to find other encounters with it.

Sightings

Sounds

Described appearance

In the source's own words, field by field. Hover a field's marker to see where it was read.

Height src
almost same height as father (5'10"), perhaps an inch or two shorter
Build src
much stockier than a man, very large/broad shoulders, no narrowing at waist/hips
Hair colour src
light brown like a buckskin horse, not especially dark, certainly not black
Hair length src
medium length, about 5 inches long, unkempt but not knotted
Face src
no meaningful look at its face
Legs src
thick and powerful-looking upper legs
Gait src
bipedal, rapid strides into woods on two legs
Posture src
crouched then fully erect bipedal stance
Other features src
head tilted far down on left side, possibly old injury or birth defect, maintained while running

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
October 1977
Stated BFRO report #47378 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month
Time of day
around 8:00 PM, dark
Stated BFRO report #47378 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
Palm Harbor, Pinellas County, Florida
Stated BFRO report #47378 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
28.10, -82.75 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 47378 (5 decimals, no boundary)
Account type
First-hand
Stated BFRO report #47378 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
2
Derived BFRO report #47378 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #47378 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness was
shooting rabbits at night with father
Stated BFRO report #47378 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
large, crouched figure
Stated BFRO report #47378 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #47378 · BFRO classification label

Evidence & investigation

What the source says was found or done. Claimed evidence is listed as claimed; the Anomadex has not examined it.

Investigated by
R. Monteith (BFRO)
Other

disturbed brush/path where something big went through in a hurry at treeline entry point

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Other

About 10-15 minutes later the father inspected the brush line where the creature entered and quickly returned shaken saying something big went through in a hurry.

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Follow-up

About 10-15 minutes later the father inspected the brush line where the creature entered and quickly returned shaken saying something big went through in a hurry.

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Follow-up

The father called the local Sheriff's office to report the incident but became frustrated explaining it and told them never mind.

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Follow-up

Years later an investigator spoke by phone with the witness, obtained a sketch, located the house area, and linked a Skunk Ape newspaper story.

BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section

Source timeline

Every record this entry is built from, earliest known first. Records are versioned and never edited in place.

  1. Published 2014-12-23 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 3 images at source Hash 546f13af0981
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

The report refers to

  • “newspaper "bigfoot sighting" about 40 miles away; Skunk Ape headlines; BFRO Media Article 713”
    Not in the Anomadex yet