‘Carrabelle Cat' hunt planned in Tate's Hell

May 15, 2011 11:36 AM

Lois Swoboda

On May 5, Carrabelle’s commission voted unanimously to invite an expedition to search the forest north of the city for a large black cat rumored to roam there.

The mission will be headed by cryptozoologist Scott Marlowe, who has visited the area several times seeking information about the mysterious “Carrabelle Cat.”

Marlowe said, to his knowledge, this is the first time a government entity in the Western Hemisphere has invited a group of cryptozoologists to do an investigation.

In a telephone interview, Marlowe said he expects over 30 researchers to participate in the search, slated for March 2-4, 2012, and open to the public for a fee. He said participants in the expedition will likely camp during their stay.

In addition to Marlowe, monster hunters who have agreed to attend include Ken Gerhard, of San Antonio, Texas, known for his investigations of “Bigfoot” and the “Thunderbird,” thought by some to be a surviving pterodactyl. Gerhard, featured in the popular TV series “Monsterquest” and “Weird Travels,” is founder of the “Cryptid Seekers,” a service that offers safaris to sites where Bigfoot, lake monsters and other cryptids reportedly have been seen.

Also slated to attend is Joedy Cook, of Ohio, cofounder of Cryptid Seekers and founder of the Ohio Center for Bigfoot Studies. He has authored several books, including three on Bigfoot, two on strange hominids, and one each on werewolves, “Cryptid Ohio,’ and winged entities like the “Mothman” and the “Jersey Devil.” Also planning to attend are Raven Meindel and daughter Jessica Dorow, a guide team for the Cryptid Seekers.

Attending will be New Orleans’ Lee Hales, a naturalist, presenter and science educator who has worked as a zoologist, animal handler, private guide and field naturalist.

Expected to take part is Lisa Wojcik, Florida’s self-proclaimed resident expert on the elusive jaguarondi, believed by some to haunt a corridor from St. Petersburg to the Panhandle, although no evidence of a population in Florida has been collected.

In a telephone interview, Meindel said she was excited about the expedition and pleased to be asked. She said the Cryptid Seekers will be heading to Point Pleasant, West Virginia in June to search for the Mothman, a legendary man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large wings. The creature was sometimes reported as having no head, with its eyes set into its chest. The creature, last reported being seen in the 1960s, was the subject of “The Mothman Prophecies,” starring Richard Gere.

Meindel began her career in cryptozoology in 2004 but said her interest dates back to a fleeting glimpse of Bigfoot while playing hide-and-seek at the age of 12.

Jim Broaddus, owner of the Bear Creek Feline Center, a refuge and educational center for big cats in Panama City, plans to bring along “Saint,” a young Florida panther from the feline center, and a jaguarundi he recently acquired from Czechoslovakia. Marlowe said the two cats will be used to mark the investigation area with urine in an effort to attract the Carrabelle Cat.

He said no live bait animals will be used to lure the cat into view, although if the cat turns out to be a jaguarundi, dead fowl will probably be used to bait no-kill traps.

Marlowe said a new trap designed by Wojcik will be tested for the first time during the search. He described it as a sticky trap for large mammals that would painlessly capture some hair follicles to sample the cat’s DNA.

The goal of the expedition is to capture the cat and identify it, Marlowe said, and if it is non-native, transport it to a safe home. If it is native, it will be released back into the swamp unharmed. “I don’t believe in killing anything,” he said..

In addition to boots-on-the-ground exploration, Marlowe, Broadus, Wojcik, Gearhard and Meindel will each give a lecture on the possible identity of the cat during the deployment. Marlowe said he is negotiating with two producers about filming the expedition.

He said he is working with Florida Keys Community College, where he teaches, to make a course practicum for which students can get credit. If approved, the course will be available for credit to students from other community colleges.

Marlowe plans to deploy FLIR (Forward looking infrared) equipment, which allows the user to see heat generated by a body, as well as regular cameras to locate the Carrabelle Cat and document it. He said, on his last trip to the area, he found a dead coyote he believes was eaten by a big cat.

Carrabelle City Commissioner Cal Allen, who made the motion to invite the expedition, said he photographed and took plaster casts of big cat tracks in the same area as the coyote.

Marlowe said he recently received pictures and accounts of dog/coyote hybrids in the area. He said these are mixed dogs, and not the vicious chupacabras, believed to suck goat blood.

Marlowe recently published “Mystery Animals of Florida.” a book on his search for mysterious animals. The book was published by Great Britain’s CFZ Press, a branch of the Center of Fortean Zoology, a group that launches missions to locate mysterious and legendary animals. Marlowe said he expects the center to partner with him on a future expedition to Tate’s Hell.

"Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled," a television series that has featured Marlowe, received a TELLY Award last year from YouTube.

He said he is planning a mission to investigate “Skunk Apes” said to be living in the forests of northwest Florida.

http://www.apalachtimes.com/news/carrabelle-9465-planned-tate.html