Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is believed by some to be an ape-like cryptid and by others to be the product of imagination.
Bigfoot is sometimes described as a large, bipedal hairy hominoid creature living in remote forested wilderness areas of the United States and of Canada, specifically those in south western Canada, the Great Lakes, the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, the forests of the U.S. Northeast, and the U.S. Southern states. Some think that a Bigfoot, or its close relatives, may be found around the world under different regional names, such as the Yeti. Sightings have allegedly occurred in Malaysia, China, Russia, Australia, South America.
The majority of scientists reject the likelihood of such a creature's existence, and consider the stories of Bigfoot to be a combination of unsubstantiated folklore and hoax (Boese 2002:146-7). No Bigfoot bones or bodies have been found, but there have been claims that tracks have been found over the years.
DescriptionsIndividuals claiming to have seen Bigfoot often give similar descriptions. They generally describe what is a 7 to 9 foot (2 to 2.5 meters) tall, ape- or human-like bipedal creature, broad-shouldered and of a strong build, covered in dark brown or dark reddish hair. The head seems to sit directly on the shoulders, with no visible neck ever reported. The head is pointed, similar to the sagittal crest of the male gorilla. In fact, a good description would be of a 'long-legged male gorilla'.
Reports sometimes describe large eyes (Green), a pronounced brow, and a large, pointed, low-set forehead that is alternately reported as crested and rounded.
Enormous human-like footprints attributed to this creature gave rise to the name "Bigfoot". Ecologist Robert Michael Pyle describes them as "Tracks commonly measure fifteen to twenty inches or more in length. They have five toes, a double-muscle ball, and a wide arch"
Foul odors reminiscent of feces, sewage, carrion or strong body odor, are sometimes associated with Bigfoot reports.
What some people believe to be Sasquatch vocalizations have been described as high-pitched shrieks or whistles, alternatively as low-pitched, guttural grunting or squealing.
Opinions exist about this theoretical creature's diet. According to recently deceased Bigfoot researcher and anthropologist Grover Krantz, "the kinds of foods that are consumed by sasquatches are reported by many observers; how many of these reports are accurate is a matter of diverse opinion." He also adds, "In general I would describe the sasquatch as omnivorous. It is probably mainly a vegetarian and what might be described as an 'opportunistic carnivore'".
Researchers currently attempting to determine if there really is a living creature under the myth include Dr. John Bindernagel of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, a location with many reported sightings, and Dr. Jeff Meldrum, who has specialized in analyzing the footprints and recent discovery of dermal print ridges in some of them.
Eyewitness reports
The majority of Sasquatch reports are generated from areas having low human population densities, but many do originate from parks near major cities, such as Portland, Oregon, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, most sightings are near rivers, creeks or lakes, and from areas where annual rainfall exceeds twenty inches (500 mm). Researchers point out that these common factors indicate patterns of a living species occupying an ecological niche, as opposed to hoaxed sightings The late Grover Krantz noted these same points and offered a detailed proposal for Sasquatch ecology and social behavior
Critics suggest people may have mistaken bears for Bigfoot, as sightings are near habitats of bears. However, the witnesses include experienced hunters and outdoorsmen, who claim to be familiar with bears, and insist that the creatures they saw were not bears. Biologist John Bindernagel argues there are marked differences between bears and Sasquatch reports that make confusion unlikely: "In profile, the bear's prominent snout is markedly different from the Sasquatch flat face. In frontal view, the Sasquatch squarish shoulders contrast with the bear's tapered shoulders. The Sasquatch has relatively long legs that allow for a graceful stride, in contrast with the short-legged shuffles of a bear when it walks on its hind legs. A bear's ears are usually visible, while those of the Sasquatch are apparently hidden under long hair." Krantz made similar arguments.
Problems with eyewitness reports
It has also been suggested that the number of people reporting Bigfoot sightings could be explained by hoaxes or "confusion" about what they really encountered. Similarly, Napier wrote that however accurate and sincere witnesses might seem, "eyewitness reports must be treated with considerable caution ... Although we don't always know what we see, we tend to see what we know". He also adds, "without checking possible (ulterior) motivations, they (eyewitnesses) cannot be acceptable as primary data"
Audio and visual evidence
Audio
Analyses of purported Sasquatch vocalizations have been recorded and analyzed, leading bioacoustics expert Dr. Robert Benson of Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi to report that some recordings "left him puzzled", and helped change his opinion "from being a raving skeptic to being curiously receptive.”
Visual
Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin claimed that they filmed a hairy, bipedal Bigfoot-type figure on October 20, 1967, but there has always been doubt that the Patterson-Gimlin film is genuine. Krantz was in the minority in his conviction that the film was proof of Bigfoot's existence. He argued that you could not have a man in an ape suit unless "you broke his arms and placed a new hinge in them". He claimed the human body was not built that way and it would be physically impossible to "fake" a film like this. Pyle, while not endorsing the film as authentic, wrote that it "has never been convincingly debunked" .
The film was for some time presented as evidence of a Bigfoot. However, Wallace admitted to having been involved in hoaxing the film, but there are some who still claim it is authentic. Many experts classified it as a hoax, Napier among them. In late 2005 the film was stabilized to make the action clearer. It can be viewed here, and some say it clearly shows the action of a man walking. See Patterson-Gimlin film for further information.
Problems with audio and visual evidence
Daris Swindler, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Washington, says, "That Patterson film is just a man in a costume
Proposed creatures
Proposed creatures
Various types of creature have been proposed by proponents to explain the sightings.Gigantopithecus
Krantz argued that a relict population of Gigantopithecus blacki was the most likely candidate to explain Bigfoot reports. Based on his analysis of its jaws, he championed a view that Gigantopithecus was bipedal.
Bourne writes that Gigantopithecus was a plausible candidate for Bigfoot since most Gigantopithecus fossils had been recovered from China, and also that extreme eastern Siberia has forests similar to northwestern North America. Many recognized animals were known to have migrated across the Bering Strait, so it was not an unreasonable notion that Gigantopithecus could have as well. "So perhaps," Bourne writes, "Gigantopithecus is the Bigfoot of the American continent and perhaps he is also the Yeti of the Himalayas".
This Gigantopithecus hypothesis is generally considered highly speculative. Rigorous studies of the existing fossilized remains seem to indicate that G. blacki is the common ancestor of two quadrupedal genera, represented by Sivapithecus and the orangutan (Pongo). Given the mainstream view that Gigantopithecus was a quadruped, it seems most unlikely that it could be an ancestor to a biped, as Bigfoot is said to be. Furthermore, it has been argued that G. blackis enormous mass would have made it difficult for it to adopt a bipedal gait. However, an analysis of the famous Patterson-Gimlin film shows that frames 369, 370, 371, and 372 all show a slender lower mandible, that does not match the massive lower mandible of Gigantopithecus blacki, which, assuming that the Patterson-Gimlin film is legitimate, would eliminate G. blacki as a candidate for Bigfoot..
"That Gigantopithicus is in fact extinct has been questioned by those who believe it survives as the Yeti of the Himalayas and the Sasquatch of the Northwest American coast. But the evidence for these creatures is not convincing."
Paranthropus
If an animal like Sasquatch has ever existed in North America, it has been argued that a likely candidate would be a species of Paranthropus, such as Paranthropus robustus, which would have looked very much like Sasquatch, including the crested skull and naturally bipedal gait. This was suggested by Napier and by anthropologist Gordon Strasenburg.
Meganthropus
There is also a little known subspecies of the Homo erectus, called Meganthropus, which reputedly grew to enormous proportions, though most recent remains of the hominid are more than 1 million years old, and are only to be found several thousand miles away from North America.
Homo erectus
Some Bigfoot reports indicate that the smaller creatures seen may be Homo erectus.Alternative theories
Some researchers have suggested that Bigfoot is not a normal flesh-and-blood creature at all, but rather a "trans-dimensional" entity that can pass through wormholes and enter our universe for short periods of time. Other researchers have proposed a connection between Bigfoot sightings and UFO activity, implying that Bigfoot may be of extraterrestrial origin. Indeed, reports of Bigfoot-like creatures have been made in connection with UFOs on several occasions. The majority of those involved in Bigfoot studies, however, strongly reject any paranormal explanations.
Movies and television
A number of fictional, feature length motion pictures have been produced featuring Bigfoot as a central character. Some of them include:
Bigfoot (1970)
Curse of Bigfoot (1976)
Sasquatch, the Legend of Bigfoot (1977)
Snowbeast (1977)
The Capture of Bigfoot (1979)
Revenge of Bigfoot (1979)
Bigfoot (1987)
Harry and the Hendersons (1987)
Little Bigfoot (1997)
Little Bigfoot 2: The Journey Home (1997)
Sasquatch Hunters (1997)
Ape Canyon (2002)
The Untold (2002)
Sasquatch Hunters (2005)
The Unknown (2005)
Sasquatch Encounter! (2006)
