Surprisingly, some cryptozoologists believe that North
America does host a population of indigenous wild apes.
The most prominent proponent of the “North American Ape”
theory is Loren Coleman. He has dubbed this cryptid the “nape,” a shortened
version of “North American Ape.”
Coleman hypothesizes that these so-called Napes populate
the river valleys of the southeastern United States and the southern Midwest.
His history with these creatures is longstanding, as he made one of the
original casts of a possible Nape in Southern Illinois in the 1960s. The cast
is clearly distinct from the traditional Bigfoot print, most notably in its
protruding thumb. The thumb is so
notable, in fact, that it has been dismissed as a tell-tale sign that the print
was hoaxed. But
this begs the question: Coleman’s whole point was that the print had a
discernible, human-like thumb.
Of course, there have been several sightings of apes in the wilderness of “Nape territory” through the years:
Howard Dreeson’s Oklahoma “chimpanzee” in the late 1960s; the Broward County,
Florida chimpanzee animals of 1971; and North Carolina’s “Knobby” in 1979, just
to name a few. In fact, on several occasions, sightings have recurred in
particular areas over a discrete period of time.
A wild population of North American apes may explain a
substantial portion of the Bigfoot sightings in the Eastern United States –
especially the sightings in which witnesses catch a quick glimpse of something
apelike. It could also explain many of
the Bigfoot vocalizations in the Southeast and lower Midwest.
One classic Bigfoot-associated cryptid that dovetails
quite nicely with the Nape hypothesis is Florida’s legendary Skunk Ape, which,
as its name suggests, has long been considered more ape-like than the classic
hominid-form Sasquatch. The Myakka Ape photographs from
around the turn of the twenty-first century are some of the most provocative
evidence of such a creature. Likewise,
Florida has been reputed to host a population
of chimpanzees – which, if true, may in fact constitute a population of
some other, native species.
Some or all of these may stem from released exotic pets,
escaped specimen from labs or roadside zoos, or other non-native sources.
But there is also the provocative possibility of a native
species. As Coleman explains in his book, “Bigfoot!
The True Story of Apes in America,” he believes that they may be dryopethcine, a believed-extinct ape
that had lived in temperate and subtropical environments.
Could there be an undiscovered species of North American
apes? The evidence is far from conclusive – especially given the unfortunate
reality of mistreated and released great apes. But it is a tantalizing
possibility nonetheless. As long as
amateur sleuths ply the wilderness in search of undiscovered creatures, Napes
deserve a place alongside better-known cryptids – whether or not they are
actually creeping underneath the dense forest canopies of Southeastern swamps
and river valleys.
