Alleged 'Skunk Ape' captured on trail camera in Florida

[UM-Bot]

A still image snapped by a remote trail camera appears to show an ape-like creature in the middle of the woods.

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/368877/alleged-skunk-ape-captured-on-trail-camera-in-florida

[Still Waters]

I think it's a black bear.

[ExoPaul]

When you check for pixel noise to see if it is digitally edited, it suggests that the creature is genuinely in the photo and not photoshopped in, however there are potential signs of digital tampering in the image as shown by the faint blue areas. This suggests something might have been airbrushed out as the blue is what would appear when models have moles or blemishes airbrushed out of a photograph. 
It isn't an exact science though and I am sure there are people who can do a better job of breaking the image down further.
 

[Cho Jinn]

Do trail cameras always just take “one” photo?  Should there not be a sequence of photo of this thing coming and going from that spot, at least if the camera is motion activated?

Edited July 29, 2023 by Cho Jinn

[Alchopwn]

3 hours ago, Still Waters said:

I think it's a black bear.

Is the baby clinging to it a bear as well?

[Alchopwn]

1 hour ago, Cho Jinn said:

Do trail cameras always just take “one” photo?  Should there not be a sequence of photo of this thing coming and going from that spot, at least if the camera is motion activated?

Yes, this is very fair criticism.

[Chaldon]

1 hour ago, ExoPaul said:

When you check for pixel noise to see if it is digitally edited, it suggests that the creature is genuinely in the photo and not photoshopped in, however there are potential signs of digital tampering in the image as shown by the faint blue areas. This suggests something might have been airbrushed out as the blue is what would appear when models have moles or blemishes airbrushed out of a photograph. 
It isn't an exact science though and I am sure there are people who can do a better job of breaking the image down further.
 

This simple method does not work on high-quality source material, only if it was JPEG with quality of 80% or lower. Only AI analysis may be of some help but it gives a lot of false positives. Personally I don't think it's been digitally manipulated, there is no need for that when just a costume will perfectly do. But I don't say it's the costume. As always, it's just something. A tree stump? It may not even be a fake, just a case of misidentification and imagination. A camera could be triggered by an insect which is already out of the frame.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Chaldon

[Jon the frog]

Even if it's a primate it doesnt mean that you have a native and existing population...escaped pet is a possibility too. It's like saying that we have wild siberian tigers in eastern Canada because one hunter killed one in 1961 near St-Onesime in Quebec.

[Nicolette]

That ape has a really weird face the quality might be to blame but the photo makes it look like a taxidermy job. 

I googled skunk apes though and some of the replicas do look just like this. And also just like a bigfoot when standing.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Nicolette

[+Hammerclaw]

All I can see are fallen trees and tree stumps.

[Still Waters]

1 hour ago, Alchopwn said:

Is the baby clinging to it a bear as well?

You see something clinging to it? I don't.

[Resume]

3 hours ago, Cho Jinn said:

Do trail cameras always just take “one” photo?  Should there not be a sequence of photo of this thing coming and going from that spot, at least if the camera is motion activated?

Many also do video; only one photo seems suspicious.

[Trelane]

[+Hammerclaw]

Never trust an image that requires interpretation.

a deer.

a bear

a bigfoot

Edited July 29, 2023 by Hammerclaw

[Kleng]

Bigfoot is real.

[MysteryMike]

It's a black bear...

Sometimes they can get white markings on their coats from their Asian ancestors which the Asian black bear has.

[josellama2000]

for me it is very simple, the shot is from a camera with slow aperture (low ISO) shooting a moving bear.
This is why the face looks so asymmetric, and the background so clear.

[openozy]

It looks like it's sandshoe is sticking out under the log, good idea in to wear sensible shoes.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

10 hours ago, Hammerclaw said:

All I can see are fallen trees and tree stumps.

Oh, it's there all right, Hammerclaw. But I think it's hiding because he's camera shy, so he knows the camera is there.  [BOINK] did I just say that? 

HeHum... Think about it. A remote game cam is set up right in front of some trees, including a fallen large dead tree. Don't make any sense to me, 
Unless you need something to shelter your man-in-a-monkey-suit, making it hard to inspect him.

[Essan]

18 hours ago, Cho Jinn said:

Do trail cameras always just take “one” photo?  Should there not be a sequence of photo of this thing coming and going from that spot, at least if the camera is motion activated?

Exactly my thought.   Unless it just takes random phots every x number of minutes?

And normal trail cameras are set up to photograph ...... trails.   Unless there was a reason the owner was expecting to see something on/by that particular tree trunk.

As usual, the lack of definitive info or other images points towards a hoax, regardless of the actual content of the photo.

[Susanc241]

The tree to the right of the ‘creature’ appears to have some thin cord tied around it and what appears to be two vertical pipes maybe (what would they be?), with it stretching up to the edge of the image then back down again - looking, for what it’s worth like it might be holding up the ‘creature’ somehow, or am I seeing something that isn’t there?

[Alchopwn]

20 hours ago, Still Waters said:

You see something clinging to it? I don't.

Look again, very closely.  It definitely has a baby clinging to its chest.  The baby has the same color fur, but you can make it out.

[Son of Apollo]

Don’t believe the animal nonsense. They are one of four species that you are made of. 

[Trelane]

On 7/29/2023 at 8:43 AM, Cho Jinn said:

Do trail cameras always just take “one” photo?  Should there not be a sequence of photo of this thing coming and going from that spot, at least if the camera is motion activated?

No, some cameras may take more than one photo per event of sensed movement. It depends on brand and setting. The ones I have used for my former BF camping expeditions I had set to take three per event.

[Piney]

2 hours ago, Son of Apollo said:

Don’t believe the animal nonsense. They are one of four species that you are made of. 

It's more complicated that that.

We "back bred" with Heidelbergensis or Erectus while still in Africa.

Also certain Asian groups consist of 4 species ( one "ghost" hominid). Europeans 2. Then there's a "ghost" hominid in some sub Saharan Africans.

But there is still more research to do.