Glowing-Eyed Skunk Ape Stuns Teenagers at Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge, Florida

August 11, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In August 1977, a 15-year-old girl and her friends were packing up after a day of swimming and swinging on a rope at the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge in Palm Beach County, Florida. As dusk settled, her girlfriend looked up at the tree line about 12 to 14 yards away and said, “Y’all, what is that?” Standing at the edge of the marsh was an eight-foot-tall, auburn-colored creature with glowing red eyes, staring back at them. The witness, now an adult named Carol, recalls a “standoff” that felt like an hour but probably lasted about five minutes. “I’ve never been so scared in my life,” she says. The encounter, which she describes on the Bigfoot Society podcast, is the centerpiece of a detailed account of what locals call skunk ape activity in the northern Everglades.

The Lead-Up: Credible Sightings in the Early 1970s

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What you'll learn

1 (02:00) **Introduction and Guest Welcome** - Host Jeremiah Byron introduces Carol, a human rights activist and author from Palm Springs, Florida, who will recount a 1970s encounter at Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge.
2 (04:03) **Pre-Encounter Context: Credible Local Sightings (1974)** - Carol recounts three well-documented skunk ape encounters in Palm Beach County that preceded her own experience.
3 (06:11) **The 1977 Encounter: Setup and Initial Sighting** - Carol describes the setting at the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge where she and her friends were swimming and using a rope swing on an August day in 1977.
4 (09:10) **Physical Description and Features** - Carol provides detailed observations of the skunk ape's appearance, including its build, facial features, and hair.
5 (15:41) **End of the Encounter and Immediate Aftermath** - The standoff ended when the group identified the creature as Bigfoot and fled the area.
6 (18:35) **Sharing the Story and Witness Credibility** - Carol explains why she and her friends kept the encounter private for a long time and emphasizes their credibility.
7 (19:47) **Lifelong Impact: Protection and Supernatural Experiences** - Carol describes how the encounter positively affected her life, leading to a sense of protection and subsequent paranormal events.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

One summer evening in 1977, three teenagers walked toward the edge of Florida's Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge and came face-to-face with an eight-foot-tall Skunk Ape. Standing motionless just yards away, the creature's glowing red eyes, powerful build, and unmistakable odor created a moment none of them would ever forget.

Carol Stanhope joins Bigfoot Society to share her unforgettable encounter, along with the remarkable history of Skunk Ape reports throughout Palm Beach County during the 1970s—including accounts involving sheriff's deputies, farmers, and security guards.

Later in the episode, the conversation expands across North America with firsthand experiences from Ontario, Northern Quebec, Oklahoma, Virginia, Iowa, and Oregon. You'll hear reports of tree knocks, mysterious rock throwing, tracks deep in remote forests, powwow encounters, possible gifting behavior, and a child's startling visual sighting during a family prayer.

Every story comes directly from the people who experienced it. Listen all the way through and decide for yourself what may be living just beyond the tree line.

Resources:

https://fdc.com/blog/florida-skunk-ape-cryptids/

https://www.westpalmbeach.com/the-skunk-ape/

https://www.facebook.com/carol.stanhope.52/

https://nonstatetorture.org