Ah, Bigfoot. One of the trifecta of cryptids that also includes the Loch Ness Monster and the Yeti. Remember the Patterson film that surfaced in 1967? A large lumbering ape-like creature filmed by two men out on horseback in Northern California had been praised and vilified. Is it a hoax? Is it real? Both men involved consistently claimed it was not a hoax, but many have come forward since saying they wore a suit and faked the Patterson film.
Others, such as the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization maintain that this is a legitimate film showing an actual Bigfoot.
Real or fake? A flesh and blood organism, a large mammalian species that has thus far gone undiscovered in North America? Sightings continue to this day, as you can see in the two following videos.
Some of them even make it to the evening news.
Naturally, some are manufactured, deliberate hoaxes, as was the case in Montana when a man put on a Ghillie suit (a type of camouflage), to try and get people to call in and report Sasquatch sightings. Sadly, that hoaxer met a tragic end when he was struck twice and killed by cars while crossing a highway.
The biggest factor brought up by the naysayers is the lack of hard evidence. The blurry photos and videos, the absence of physical trace seem to point to an absence of an actual animal.
Or do they? Is there any physical evidence that has not hit the mainstream media? Researchers in Texas say they have sequenced Bigfoot DNA from “purported Bigfoot samples.” They claim that the DNA proves Bigfoot is a heretofore unknown species that is a “a human hybrid with unambiguously modern human maternal ancestry.” Wow. Take that one in for a moment, and ponder if we can prove that one cryptid is real, what does that say about the rest? I encourage you to read the report I found, here. It’s not a scholarly article, still waiting to see that, but nonetheless, it is food for thought.
Have you seen a Bigfoot? Heard one hollering in the woods while you were camping? I haven’t, but a good friend tells how she and another friend listened to one howling on a mountainside while they were camping a few years ago. These were experienced campers, and outdoor enthusiasts and both said it was like nothing they’d ever heard before.
How about you?
We have ‘mystery animal’ stories in New Zealand of various kinds, mostly involving moa. This giant flightless bird died out from over-hunting around 1500-1550, but stories persist of it surviving in Fijordland, a popular bush region used by hunters, trampers and film crews. All founder on the problem of population. You can’t just have one or two – there has to be a breeding population, and that’s a lot easier to find. None has been. To put that in perspective, our scientists re-discovered the Takahe in that region in 1948 with a (barely) breeding population of less than 20 birds. It had been thought extinct since 1898. However, the Takahe is a variety of rail approx 0.5 metres high; while Dinornis robustus was 3.6 metres tall (though male-female dimorphism was significant). Fijordland swarms with human activity, so if any moa had survived, odds are on we’d have found ’em by now.
I imagine it would be difficult to hide something the size of a moa on a couple of islands, or Bigfoot for that matter. Cryptid stories are found around the world but I hadn’t heard of moa sightings. Sad that yes, lack of breeding population is a limiting factor. Thanks for reading and sharing!
My mind, as you know, is wide open to any and all things. It’s a shame, though, when people try to exploit things like this when they definitely have come up empty handed.
I am still waiting for their peer-reviewed publication. It is exciting that this group in Texas has what they feel is conclusive DNA evidence, but putting out a press release is not the same as publishing your data or sources. I have a friend who is writing a screenplay about Bigfoot. She quit her job and moved from the Seattle area to a part of Oregon that has the highest number of Bigfoot sightings in the country. She hasn’t seen one yet, but said that a sighting was recently reported.
Hi Serena! “A trifecta of cryptids?” I personally have never heard of that term before Serena. I learn something new on your blog everytime I read it. Now I can say that I’ve been to Lock Ness in Scotland. But we missed Nessie. Darn! It’s probably like missing Bigfoot, right? Though, whose to say that they don’t exist? 🙂
I didn’t see Nessie either when I was there. I was bummed too. Like another commenter said, we run into the problem of breeding populations, especially in restricted ranges like Loch Ness. Fun speculation though, and we may get proof yet.
I just don’t know what I believe. I certainly would not say I don’t believe they exist. Still…I can’t help but wonder why we haven’t been able to find proof? A curious thing. Maybe they have learned to go in and out of our dimension! Yeah…that’s really a wild thought but hey, you never know!
I’ve heard the dimensional theory discussed before, about Bigfoot and some other cryptids. I like the idea emotionally, not sure if it’s entirely accurate…but oh, how I want it to be.