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Baker County Orangutan May Actually be a Fox Squirrel

 Gary Detman     Created: 11/16/2007 9:45:07 PM    Updated: 11/16/2007 9:48:43 PM
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MACCLENNY, FL (AP) -- An animal sneaking around Baker County is not an orangutan as originally thought but likely a fox squirrel, state wildlife officials said Friday.

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission laid doughnuts at a base of a tree after residents reported seeing a "big orange ball of fur."

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."

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