Speculation about the mysterious creature sighted in Baker County run the gamut from it being an escaped ape to a juvenile big foot, but a state wildlife officer have his own idea: an orange-phase fox squirrel.

While local animal control officials speculated that the animal seen a few times over the past three weeks was an orangutan, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigator on the case said the creature is not behaving like a primate, especially with its nocturnal activity.

Fox squirrels are the largest species of tree squirrel. They have distinct color phases ranging from reddish brown to pale gray backs and red to yellow-orange bellies and can grow to 2 feet in length.

The first sighting of the mysterious creature occurred at the end of October. A homeowner reported hearing and seeing something in a tree behind his house. Baker County Animal Control Officer Tina Thomas responded and said she also saw a "big orange ball of fur," and speculated it was a great ape.

FWC Officer Ken Holmes went to investigate. He said he saw something about 100 feet up in a pine tree in a nest-like structure, but he said he was unable to identify it.

"I'm not discounting anything. However, this creature, whatever it may be, simply isn’t acting like a primate," Holmes said. "When it climbed up in the nest and hid, that wasn’t primate behavior. An orangutan would have peered over the side to watch what was going on down below."

The homeowner told Holmes that the creature had broken into some jelly donuts. While Holmes suggested leaving additional treats at the base of the tree to lure the creature back to the ground, the creature eventually came down without being seen.

The next sighting was reported Wednesday when a homeowner reported hearing his dogs bark and saw a shadowy figure running across the roof of his dogs' kennel late that night. The homeowner didn't get a good look at the creature since it was dark.

On Thursday, Holmes set a trap with apples and bananas, but nothing ventured in that night.

"However, the story attracted quite a crowd to the area, so the animal may have been simply avoiding the people," Holmes said.

Holmes speculated that if the trap catches any wildlife, it will be of the native variety.