Mysterious Florida animal may by squirrel

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A Florida wildlife officer has said the mysterious animal marauding through Baker County is likely just a squirrel and not a Big Foot or an orangutan.

Ken Holmes, an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said despite recent reports of an ape-like creature living in the area, the mysterious animal is most likely an orange-phase fox squirrel, WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., reported Sunday.

Holmes said while he was not sure what the creature was, initial reports of it hiding in a tree did not appear to be indicative of primate behavior.

"I'm not discounting anything. However, this creature, whatever it may be, simply isn't acting like a primate," Holmes said. "When it climbed up in the nest and hid, that wasn't primate behavior. An orangutan would have peered over the side to watch what was going on down below."

Whatever the creature turns out to be, it apparently has a taste for jelly doughnuts.

WJXT-TV said several of the tasty treats were eaten by the creature during a prior sighting, offering a potential clue to luring the animal out into the open in the future.