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422 encounters
1955 Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida Class A #13034

Early evening sighting by residents on the Hillsborough River

In the mid-1950s the witness and a companion were watching a drive-in movie from across the river after dark. They heard something behind them, turned, and saw a large hairy creature backlit by a lamplight. They fled immediately without looking back.

SilhouetteFull-body sightingUnidentified sound
1940–1949 Lake Wales, Florida #1f8ff750-46df-47ab-9d7d-fec2c6137c69

Cryptid sighting near Lake Wales, Florida (1940)

An older woman wrote that she and her uncle set traps for disappearing oranges and caught a tiny hair-covered naked man speaking an unknown language. Police put him in an orange crate, then the house was pelted with sticks, stones and oranges by dozens of similar beings until he was released. A later police worker recalled the crate incident.

Full-body sightingRock throwingObject throwing
1918 Florida #a1037b54-6796-41ce-9ea4-e7ea731aa4d8

Sasquatch sighting in Florida (1918)

In 1918 a boy was reportedly abducted near the pond. Community members pursued, recovered the boy, who was scratched up, and captured the creature. The teller notes the creature did not seem intent on harming the boy and describes it as acting lonely rather than aggressive.

Full-body sightingHistorical accountFolklorePossible misidentification
1884 Florida #a1037b54-6796-41ce-9ea4-e7ea731aa4d8

Sasquatch sighting in Florida (1884)

In 1884 a rural community living around Ocheesee Pond lost livestock and heard eerie nighttime calls from the water. After children were frightened by a hair-covered figure, residents formed a posse, captured it, and transported it chained to the governor in Tallahassee. The governor could not place it and sent it to the nearby Chattahoochee hospital, where it died and was buried under later construction.

Full-body sightingVocalizationHistorical accountFolklore
1800–1979 Barden, Florida #1f8ff750-46df-47ab-9d7d-fec2c6137c69

Sasquatch sighting near Barden, Florida (1800)

The guest described a longstanding local legend of an 8 to 10 foot tall skunk ape that lounges around and is often seen carrying a lantern. Stories go back to the 1800s and include chasing people off horses, with a revival around the late 1960s. A store owner later admitted dressing a boy in a monkey costume to fake some sightings, which leaves earlier reports unresolved.

Full-body sightingPossible hoax
BFRO YEAR: 1998 & 1999 Edgewater, Volusia County, Florida Class B #747

1. loud vocalization sounds woke sleeping couple. 2. family dog found injured

In the fall of 1998 two witnesses were asleep at home when they were awakened around 10 p.m. by two extremely loud vocalizations, first a growl and then a rising scream that felt as if it was inside the room. Their two dogs were too frightened to move, and a check outside found nothing.

GrowlScream
BFRO YEAR: 2002; 2007 Hosford, Wakulla County, Florida Class B #67296

Vocalizations heard and nests found in remote part of Ochlockonee River bottom

Around 2002 the witness was hunting alone from a tree stand in river-bottom woods during an afternoon hunt. After a prolonged silence and faint squabbling sounds, just after dark he heard a loud piercing call immediately followed by a deep prolonged growl, repeated three times at closer range while a deer moved past. He called out, scanned with lights with his rifle ready, saw nothing, then left quickly when a boat arrived.

VocalizationGrowl
BFRO YEAR: 1979 or 80 East Of Lakeland, Polk County, Florida Class B #1608

Noise, like wood being banged against tree. Tracks found

The witness was on a trail on a sunny hot afternoon when a loud impact like a large stick hitting a large tree trunk was heard 20 to 30 yards off the trail. Tracks were later found in the area several weeks afterward. Two other witnesses were said to have been involved but would not come forward.

Wood knock
BFRO YEAR: 1985 86 Lakeland Fla, Polk County, Florida Class B #3918

Hunter has unexplained, late night encounter while in small boat on Saddle Creek

Late at night the witness paddled a small boat up a creek with two dogs and heard something following on the bank, then a loud blowing noise. The dogs refused to go ashore and later barked intensely. The witness shone a light and saw a large ape-like figure running away over a hill, then noticed a group of tracks while leaving. A skunk-like brassy odor was noted before the sighting.

Partial sightingTracksOdorUnidentified sound
BFRO YEAR: 1947/48 Palatka, Putnam County, Florida Class A #4795

While riding horse, young teen has day time sighting not far from Palatka

Around 1947-48 on a hot summer day, the witness was riding a horse through pine woods to visit a neighbor when a large dark hairy figure was seen at a distance by a pine tree. The figure appeared to make repeated up-and-down movements with its arms raised and paid no attention to the witness. The horse stopped, pointed its ears forward, and refused to approach, so the witness watched briefly from a safe distance.

Full-body sighting
BFRO YEAR: 1971-72? Putnam Hall, Putnam County, Florida Class A #1021

Large Creature standing in road

The witness and a companion were driving at night when an entity was standing in their lane and they had to swerve to avoid hitting it. They reported getting a good look as they passed, describing a tall, hairy, man-like figure. The driver was frightened and would not stop or turn around.

Full-body sightingRoad crossing
BFRO YEAR: About 1995 Bartow, Polk County, Florida Class B #15310

Possible daylight sighting by fisherman near Bartow

The witness was fishing from a hilltop near a park in Bartow while companions checked lines. She noticed a dark, hairy form protruding chest-high from the water among reeds, seemingly staring at her. She stared back, testing the sighting by closing and averting her eyes, but when companions returned and she tried to point it out, it was gone.

Partial sighting
BFRO YEAR: 74-75 Lake Worth, Palm Beach County, Florida Class A #414

Year long sightings by family

The witness describes repeated nighttime visits to a rural property over about a year by a family of large hairy creatures that ate fruit, looked in trailer windows, and once bit a penned hog. The witness reports seeing three individuals of varying heights, hearing frequent chattering, noticing odor, tracks and hair, and attempting to hunt them without driving them away. After about a year the visits stopped, believed to have ended when habitat regrew.

Full-body sightingChatterOdorTracksHair +1
BFRO YEAR: 2002-2003? Lake Park,, Palm Beach County, Florida Class A #30929

Daylight observation of a hair-covered bipedal figure in the Grassy Waters Preserve

The witness and a companion were walking a preserve boardwalk in the early morning after being denied a guided canoe trip. From the boardwalk they watched a tall dark figure at the base of a distant cypress tree repeatedly squat, dig in the mud, stand, and bring a hand to its mouth for several minutes. Two park rangers were also present, but requested binoculars fogged and were unusable. The witness described the figure as human-like in posture and movement and did not consider it a bear.

Full-body sightingAnimal behaviour
BFRO YEAR: early 2000 Orlando, Orange County, Florida Class A #32746

Man recalls his nighttime sighting of a tall hair covered biped outside Orlando

The witness and a cousin were parked late at night beside a playground near a small lake and woods after driving home. The witness, still in the car, saw a huge dark fur-covered figure standing nearby in dim light. When the witness opened the door and the car was started, the figure moved off to the right as they drove away toward their neighborhood. They briefly returned to look for it but found no trace.

Full-body sighting
BFRO YEAR: 1993? Blackman, Okaloosa County, Florida Class B #24441

Man recounts his possible daytime sighting while bowhunting near Crestview

The witness was bowhunting alone from a tree stand overlooking a field in autumn. About 2000 feet away across the field, a very large bipedal figure emerged from the woods, passed in front of a large oak tree, and reentered the woods over about a minute. Its dark appearance and arm-swinging walk reminded the witness of well-known Bigfoot footage. No sound was heard at that distance, and the site could not be checked until after dark.

Full-body sighting
BFRO YEAR: 08 Baker Fl, Okaloosa County, Florida Class B #25037

Kayaker experiences frightening incidents while traveling down Yellow River

While kayaking a long stretch of river in northwest Florida near dusk, the witness heard moaning to yelling sounds and smelled a strong musky odor. Rocks were thrown from the treeline toward the water and near the kayak, while sticks and trees were heard breaking. The witness also heard coyotes and loud unidentified sounds suggesting animals fighting, felt followed for much of the trip, and never saw the source.

VocalizationOdorRock throwingUnidentified soundTree break +1
BFRO YEAR: 1975-76 North Key Largo, Monroe County, Florida Class B #24241

Family has a strange and terrifying encounter while fishing in the Everglades National Park

While night-fishing beside a canal in the Everglades with his parents as a young child, the witness heard something pacing back and forth in dense vegetation behind them. His father threw a piece of coral, shone a spotlight, and shouted, but the movement continued without any visible source or response. Frightened by the persistent, methodical pacing, the family fled in their car without breaking down their fishing rods.

FootstepsUnidentified soundMovement onlyAnimal behaviourPossible misidentification
BFRO YEAR: 1988-89? Greenville, Madison County, Florida Class B #32302

Memory told of a possible dusk sighting at a hunting camp near Greenville

A year after hearing loud growls in the same area, the witness and a companion were scouting without rifles. While driving and looking for wildlife, they stopped to watch an animal grazing at a distance that moved toward the companion on all fours. When the companion made noise, it stood upright on two legs, appearing tall with a light underside, before retreating into the woods.

Full-body sighting
BFRO YEAR: 1973-74? Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida Class A #1030

5 children observe a very large hairy "man" for several minutes (N. Ft. Myers)

The witness, then a child, was with several other children at a playground at dusk after playing in nearby woods. After another child pointed out movement, the group climbed the slide ladder to look into the woods. They watched a large hair-covered upright figure look at them and then turn and walk slowly away through scrub palms toward a pond for a couple minutes before they ran home.

Partial sighting