Searching for Sasquatch II: Into the Lair of the Skunk Ape

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Searching for Sasquatch II: Into the Lair of the Skunk Ape (2021) is a documentary directed by and starring self-described 'animal adventurer', Jason Kenzie. Apparently, Kenzie has made a whole series of these films about his search for the sasquatch, (also known as Bigfoot), all of which can be found on Tubi. I haven't seen the first one, but chose to watch the second because it was about the skunk ape, which I've only heard of once before and was curious about. In the words of one of the interviewees in this documentary, Bigfoot researcher Sherri Barcia, the skunk ape is "basically a Bigfoot with four toes." When asked why it had four toes, Barcia speculated that it had something to do with keeping its footing in the swamp.

This documentary starts out with a disclaimer, warning that it is for entertainment purposes only, although I have no doubt that Kenzie is a true Bigfoot believer. In it, Kenzie visits several locations in search of any evidence of Sasquatch or Skunk Apes. I'll save you the trouble of getting your hopes up by saying that he doesn't find any. He gets very excited about "tree structures" where fallen trees or large branches are arranged into an 'x' shape, which he believes might be from sasquatches marking their territory, although he does concede that they might also be made by humans. At one point one of Kenzie's companions finds a hair stuck to a tree, but they don't do anything to analyse it or compare it with other types of hair.

Kenzie then heads to the middle of the Everglades to meet skunk ape expert Dave Shealy, at his Ape Research Headquarters , a tourist attraction with a campground and gift shop. In 2000 Shealy shot a video of an alleged skunk ape. In the interview, he says that while it may appear to be a man in an ape suit, "you have to keep in mind that there was two feet of water on the ground and this creature was running as fast as a deer". This doesn't seem to be reflected in the footage, in which the creature moves at a pace I'd describe as "stumbling" rather than running.



Shealy also has a large collection of plaster casts of footprints he has collected over the years that he believes to be from a skunk ape. After the interview, Shealy introduces Kenzie to some of the animals he keeps at the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters, including a baby alligator and a 10ft long reticulated python named Goldie.

This documentary is amateurish, but that is part of its charm. Don't expect to learn a lot of facts, but Kenzie's enthusiasm and laboured Dad jokes do make it fun to watch. While Kenzie and his friends don't find anything conclusive in this documentary he vows to continue his search and has apparently done so at great length. I might check out Searching for Sasquatch 13: Return to the Lair of the Skunk Ape to see how it's going. Until then, as Kenzie urges us, "let the bigfoot adventures always continue in your heart".

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