UT Biologist Offers Theories on Skunk Ape

UT Biologist Offers Theories on Skunk Ape

October 24, 2003

By TIM MILLER
6 News Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) --- A UT biologist will join this weekend's search for answers about what's killing pets in Campbell County. He believes it's probably a common animal, instead of a skunk ape.

John Placyk researches animal behaviors and how they forage for food. On Saturday, he'll join a group exploring two caves in Campbell County, to try to determine what's killing and eating cats.

"You know when your cats and dogs don't come back home or you find them in pieces, it's a scary thing and you want to know what's going on," Placyk said.

Based on his studies, Placyk said the odds of a big primate like a skunk ape wandering Campbell County aren't very good. "If there's a primate in the area, I think it's just a horrible coincidence that the cat deaths are corresponding with the primate sightings. I think they're probably two separate things."

Placyk said the only primate that tends to be a meat eater is a chimpanzee. But even they would only eat about one cat a week. And he said orangutans eat fruit almost exclusively.

The theory Placyk has developed is that a pack of hungry coyotes is taking down the pet cats and dogs. "When a feral dog pack or a coyote finds an aggregation of cats like that, it's a perfect resource for food and they're going to keep hitting it until the food is gone. And they're going to move on."

On his weekend cave trip, Placyk will collect feces and hair samples and do DNA testing to narrow down what animal is causing such a stir.

He said he can't rule out that some kind of unknown primate could be roaming Campbell County. But he said people shouldn't be frightened. It probably won't hurt anyone.

However, he warns people not to try cornering or catching a primate because they're stronger than humans and can do damage.