BFRO #47378: Memory told of a close nighttime encounter while hunting rabbits in a rural backyard near Palm Harbor

📍 Location

📝 Description

We lived in a rural area of central Florida that was mostly pine forest. There were a few hundred acres on derelict citrus groves nearby as well as a cypress swamp to the north and east of the pine forest. The area we lived in was roughly 4 square miles between paved roads, but to the north, east, and west beyond the area I am describing, there were additional substantial areas of pine forest, palmetto scrub, and dense cypress swamp. Our house was situated on the crest of a hill, or at least what passes for a hill in that part of Florida.It was about 8:00 one night and I was home alone with my father. My parents were separated and my father would occasionally come to stay with me when my mother and siblings were out. During the late fall and winter months, it was our custom to shoot rabbits at night. Our house was roughly square, with small flood lights on each corner of the house that would illuminate our small yard area and the edge of the tree line out back to the north and west. We would typically wait until it was fully dark before we would go out. We would load our shotgun in the house, get our flash lights ready, and on occasion my father would wear a headlamp, or as he called it �a one-eyed dog�. We would leave the corner flood lights of the house off until we were ready, then we would turn the lights on and quickly step out the back door. Most of the time there would be a rabbit or two, nibbling the grass at the border between our poorly kept lawn and edge of the forest. Not a difficult shot with a shotgun at just under 30 yards.On this particular night it was my father�s turn to shoot. I held a large flashlight, he held a Steven�s 12 gauge side by side double barrel and wore a less than powerful headlamp. As we flipped the lights on and emerged from the back door he stepped to the right and panned east towards an old ear tree at the edge of the grass. I turned west towards the northwest corner of our yard where there was a clothes line and an old bench my grandfather had made. On the edge of our yard, just 6 or 8 feet from the tree line, was a large, crouched figure. When I first saw the figure it was reasonably well lit from the flood lights on the house and from the upper edge of my flashlight beam. By my first glimpse of the creature it was already moving, springing up from a crouch to a fully erect, bi-pedal stance while simultaneously rotating away from me (turning to the creature�s right). As there was motion when I first saw it, I was not able to get any meaningful look at its face. But as it turned I saw the creature with very good clarity from a distance of just under 30 yards. It was not a giant creature � it was almost the same height as my father (who was 5�10�), perhaps an inch or two shorter than he was. Most of my view of the creature was from the back after it had turned and started moving away. The creature was clearly much stockier than a man, with very large shoulders and not very much narrowing noticeable at the waste. Its upper legs were thick and powerful looking. It was covered in fur of medium length � not shaggy or super long, but long enough to obscure the details of most muscle tone. The fur was longer than that of a deer, yet not quite as long or as deep or dark as a bear. The fur was not especially dark and was certainly not black. The flashlight we had back then made everything look a little bit lighter, and a little bit more bluish purple than it really was, which I had previously observed many times when examining close up the rabbits that we had shot.The creature took 3 or 4 very distinct strides before its lower body became obscured from view by some undergrowth. Its shoulders and head were visible for perhaps another two or three strides and then nothing could be seen because of pine branches and the fact that the creature moved beyond the area illuminated by the flood lights on the house. I never shown my flashlight directly on it as I was stunned to the point of both immobility and speechlessness as soon as I saw it. I will never forget the distinct look of the creature from behind. It had some kind of deformity. Its head was tilted quite far down on the left side with that side of its head at an awkward angle to its shoulder. It was like the muscles or tendons in the left side of his neck had been injured and were now contracted a bit and shorter than the muscle on the right side. It was not a temporary position or part of the creature sudden movement; that awkward, left leaning head position was maintained even as the creature ran away.I do not recall any vocalizations or any specific smell. I do remember the sound of twigs snapping and leaves and pine needles crunching very loudly as the creature moved away. The sound of it moving through the forest and undergrowth was quite distinct and had a cadence that no other local creature made. The sound of the creature running stopped when the creature reached a small clearing about 70 yards into the woods (or I ass

🔍 Circumstances

One person was with me, but they were looking in almost the opposite direction

🌤️ Weather Conditions

Around 8:00 PM. Dark outside but the creature was illuminated in flood lights and partially illuminated by a flashlight

ℹ️ Additional Details

Around 8:00 PM. Dark outside but the creature was illuminated in flood lights and partially illuminated by a flashlight

🔗 Sources (1)

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