Monkeying Around
Florida wildlife officials are informing the public that the reports of an orangutan on the loose in Baker county are untrue. They insist that it cannot be an orange-furred ape. Instead, they believe it is - wait for it - a fox squirrel. No, really.
The animal was probably an orange phase fox squirrel, Fish and Wildlife investigator Ken Holmes told The Florida Times-Union. The red-orange animals can grow to be about 2 feet tall and can climb in trees.
"I'll be astonished if it's an orangutan," Holmes said. "I can quite confidently say it's probably not an orangutan."
He said the animal's eating habits did not match with the patterns of a primate.
"I'm not discounting anything," Holmes said. "However, this creature, whatever it may be, simply isn't acting like a primate."
Residents of the area reported a "big orange ball of fur" hanging around in the trees. This is a fox squirrel:
(Photo credit: calibas)
On the other hand, this is an orangutan:
(Photo credit: Malene Thyssen)
I'm not seeing any resemblance here. One can't help but wonder how they decided that it must be a squirrel….
By NortonPete, Sunday, 18 November , 2007 @ 4:49 pm
I would rather face a squirrel than an orangutan. So therefore if I was a public employee, I would cast every animal incident as “squirrel incident” and hope I didn’t get bit in the you know what by a near human attacker.
By Mockin'bird, Monday, 19 November , 2007 @ 2:15 am
Ken Holmes makes extra money on weekends as a lobbyist for several animal species, such as The Squirrels.