Myakka Expedition

These are the facts...they are indisputable at this point having witnessed these events myself.  We were not in this park more than two hours and we found our first track, right on the side of a main trail. Within an hour of finding the track and following some simple common sense theory, we encountered the skunk ape and my son, Christopher, the non-believer, saw it and became a believer.

 Theory used:  "Find their prey."

1. "The lion never strays to far from the Gazzel"
"My refrigerator is in my house." 

2."They don't like to be out in the open, but will choose a vantage point that gives both safety from us and maintains opportunistic advantage."
 You can literally walk within 10 feet of these things and never know it.
We were within feet of it, could sense it's presence and it grunted. my son heard it as he was closer, we zeroed in on the approximate area and charged in.

3. Flush it out.
A game of cat and mouse that lasted approx. 45 minutes began and ended with a sighting.


Click on the link below or
Go to You-tube, Put my name ( Mark Zaskey ) in the search field and watch all of this unfold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=94LDeCPFeJg

Expedition results from

Track number one lots more to follow including a sighting
 by Christopher Zaskey.
We were absolutely stunned to find this track so nearby a public area.
Literally dozens of hikers pass this spot every day. With a track that fresh,
We opted to come back and cast it later in the afternoon, thinking the creature could still be in the area, we were right.

Upcoming Expedition

August 14th thru the 17th  I will be in an area that is unquestionably the most terrifying place I have ever camped.
 As the sun goes down the animals come out.  Due to the thickness of the surrounding canopy and hammocks, most of the activity you hear everywhere you can not see.
It is like a symphony of wildlife that I've never heard before.
Any night time excursions away from camp should be an exercise in fear  control.  The wild hogs and deer are so used to humans they just act like your not even there.  The area boasts dozens of sightings in the last two decades and all of my research indicates that we are in for a couple of very interesting days and nights.
Results to follow, Keep your fingers crossed.

Big Red lives there

See ya when I get back.