Review: Monster Quest 12-26-07

This was a rather intriguing episode, about the Florida Skunk Ape, with witness Dan Jackson recounting a sighting he had in 1983 in Collier County. Crystal LeMaster, a primate expert, is interviewed about her impressions of the Myakka Photos, and she does not believe they are of an orangutan. Dr. Gregory Bambenek (also known as "Dr. Juice") is profiled on expedition in Louisiana where pheremone chips are scattered over the area to attempt to attract a Swamp Ape. He is joined by Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy member Scott Kessler. Several Native Americans in Florida are interviewed about their assessments of the Swamp Ape Legend, as well, as well as at least one wildlife official. A firefighter is interviewed in anonymity after taking a report in 2000 of apparently a witness hitting a strange animal in Trout, Louisiana, possibly a Swamp Ape. Bloodhounds are brought in to track down the creature in this story but were never able to see it or get close enough to it to determine what it was. Another team in the Louisiana Swamps sets out camera traps. The area Bambenek and his team are exploring has had a recent report in 2006. 16 tracks were found on that day of some unusual creature. Kerry Foster of the Shreveport Fire Department brings out the bloodhounds to search for the Swamp Ape as well. The bloodhounds are primed by Ape pheremones. Peggy Callahan, a wildlife expert, is a bit skeptical of why no Swamp Ape bodies have been found or remains. She and photographer Jim Tittle do a test on a dead deer to see what the effects of nature can be on it. The camera will snap a photo every ten minutes for seven days. Scott Kessler claims a Swamp Ape sighting near Trout, Louisiana in 1977 when he was 7. He saw it out the window of his tent while he and his family were camping. Scott saw two of them that night. Robert Carr, Florida Archaeologist, is also interviewed about his assessments of feral ape populations in the Sunshine State. An eyewitness in the Big Cypress Preserve had a Skunk Ape sighting in 2005. An encounter from 1829 from Florida is also recounted of loud bellowing screams. This group of hunters in 1829 is attacked by some sort of creature which kills one of the members, but the creature, 13 feet tall, is killed and the party does not bother to collect a piece of the body. The Myakka photo is examined by LeMaster and she questions the authenticity of the photo and believes based on her observation that it is not of a real animal. It was a pretty good episode of Monster Quest, very enjoyable. Next week examines Stalin's Ape-Men, beginning at 10:00 EST/9:00 Central on the History Channel. Check local listings for time and channel.