Merry Xmas Epic!

Man! The book to the left is indeed my favorite present this year. Which brings me to one of the things I forgot to mention in the previous post. This past year we had the honor of having the Loren Coleman leave a comment on our site...

Mr.Coleman's comment is reprinted below.

Welcome to the wonderful, crazy world of blogging.

At Cryptomundo, we deal in an extremely high volume of new reports and postings, so to say you *scooped* us is fine with us. We need not mention the scores of stories we paid attention to while you highlighted Cameron Gainer's newest appearance.

But let me mention that, yes, Cryptomundo's first posting about Cameron Gainer's art was on September 14, 2006, with a followup on October 22, 2006, and an added update on October 20, 2007.

I guess I could post on Cryptomundo, in response to this posting that we scooped you on posts about Gainer's art by almost 17 months, but I won't. LOL.

Keep up the good work.

Well thank you again sir I hope we still do you proud. Please folks if you get a chance please donate to the International Cryptozoology Museum as we have asked you to do in the past.

Oh and if you do not know who Loren Coleman is you can visit is fabulous sight Cryptomundo or check out his Bio at Wikipedia

As always Mr.Coleman any progress made in crytozoology is only due to our ability to stand on the shoulders of your achievments. BfRLC salutes you!

One Year Later

After 109 posts, over 3 million visitors, and 26 lunches we have achieved the high mark of our first anniversary.

Yes lunch clubbers when we reflect on the last year let me share some of the highlights. As we all know the biggest news was the Georgia hoax.

Before we go to the chart below I would like to present a link to our first post Since then we have come quite a ways. Although we endured the peak of August 15th -- the official press release of the Georgian Hoax. We scooped most media by posting the news July 30th.

As you can see though, news traveled slow for the rest of the world, bigfoot related searches and news media mentions waited a full 15 days. As illustrated below and at the google trends website.




Proud to be the first stop for all Bigfoot related news, we at the Bigfoot Research Lunch Club will continue to work even harder next year. Happy holidays. Happy Anniversary Bigfoot Lunch Clubbers! Many thanks to all who have made this a truly successful year!

President Bigfoot?

Two of the BfRLC's favorite subscribers, Marc and Lisa-both of the CNA, noticed this uncanny resemblence of President-Elect Obama to the big guy himself, Bigfoot. Take a close look and you will see that our new President, who by the way was endorsed by the BfRLC, is taking on the classic pose of our large footed friend. Perhaps there is something here moreso than a simple photo of our next great President on vacation. Those who doubted we'd ever have an African-American President might also doubt the existence of Bigfoot; well, coming out of 2008 we all know now that anything is possible. We salute you Marc and Lisa for sharing this photo with us.

Bigfoot at Fifty

Legend of apelike forest dweller has spawned a cottage industry in Northern California.
By JOHN FLINN
The San Francisco Chronicle


Somewhere in the wilds of the Siskiyou Mountains, a hulking, ill-kempt, apelike creature should be on the lookout for that dreaded letter from the AARP Yes, it's true: Bigfoot is about to turn 50.

Or, to put it more precisely (if less fancifully), the phenomenon of Bigfoot is hitting the half-century mark.

In 1958, a man from Willow Creek in Humboldt County discovered the first size-15 footprints in the mud. Wildlife biologists, scoop-hungry reporters, cryptozoologists, psychics, new age shamans and even big-game hunters have been combing the wooded mountains ever since. They've turned up more footprints – lots and lots of footprints – and a few other intriguing bits of evidence, but no one has been able to produce definitive, unassailable proof that the creature exists.

Still, several communities claim Bigfoot as their native son – none with a louder voice than Willow Creek, a tiny town overlooking the Trinity River on Highway 299, 40 minutes east of Arcata. It's home to the Bigfoot Museum, the Bigfoot Motel and the Bigfoot Golf & Country Club, and was the site of the 2003 International Bigfoot Symposium.

Stories of a big, apelike beast called Sasquatch circulated in the Pacific Northwest long before white settlers arrived. Then, on Aug. 27, 1958, a bulldozer operator named Jerry Crew stumbled upon a set of eerily large footprints next to a U.S. Forest Service road he was building near Bluff Creek. Andrew Genzoli, a columnist for the Humboldt Times, coined the name Bigfoot, and suddenly Northern California had its own version of the Loch Ness monster.

Nine years later, two other men from Willow Creek, Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, were searching in the same area and shot the famous home movie that depicts, depending on your point of view, either Bigfoot or a person in a cheesy Bigfoot costume. The 53-second clip has been analyzed nearly as thoroughly as the Zapruder film, and whatever your conclusion, there are dozens of "experts" who will back you up.

In the decades that followed, there have been recurrent whispers in Willow Creek of Bigfoot sightings. But 84-year-old Al Hodgson, retired owner of the town's variety store, says encounters are more common than is publicly known.

"If you say you've seen Bigfoot, people make fun of you," he said. "A lot of people hold back, keep it to themselves."

He's never encountered the big beast himself, but Hodgson has found several sets of footprints, which he preserved with plaster casts. They're now on display at the town's Bigfoot Museum.

Checking in

In a town where a funky 1950s motel used to be the best you could hope for, Coho Cottages offer handsomely luxe lodging at reasonable prices. Built by local rafting guides Marc and Londa Rowley on a bluff above the river, the large, stylish, brand-new, freestanding cottages have screened-in porches with Adirondack chairs and gas grills; large walk-in showers with rain showerheads; whirlpool tubs; fluffy pillow-top beds with high-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets; gas fireplaces with sitting areas; and larger-than-normal kitchenettes. The photos on the Web site don't come close to doing this place justice.

Spend your day

You might start by shopping for delectable fruits and vegetables at Trinity River Farm, a '70s commune now being managed as a traditional farm by Molly O'Gorman, the founder's daughter. Then head over to the Bigfoot Museum, also known as the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum. The Bigfoot wing is in the back, and there you'll find lots of plaster footprints, a few strands of alleged Bigfoot hair, a tiny chunk of Bigfoot's alleged Achilles tendon, lots of newspaper clippings and a couple of films. On the way out, stop at the front desk to buy Bigfoot cookies, "Bigfoot crossing" signs, Bigfoot shot glasses, Bigfoot coffee mugs, Bigfoot jelly, Bigfoot T-shirts and ... well, you get the idea. In the afternoon, go for a whitewater rafting trip on the Trinity River, keeping an eye out, of course, for Bigfoot lounging on the riverbank.

Many of those who've encountered Bigfoot say the creature stinks like rotting garbage. So don't just look; use your nose, too.

Read Original Article

Artcic Blast Yeti Sighting

Here in the Northwest we are experiencing an arctic blast. Although any good bigfoot hunter knows Yeti's are usually sighted in Nepal, Tibet and perhaps Canada. Local Portland State University student, Nicholas "Saij" Horton has posted a sighting on his blog Good Tithings

We’re in the middle of what the local news casters are calling the “Artcic Blast”. yep. That’s really what they’re calling it.

I’ve been couped up in my apartment for a few days, and I think it may be getting to me. I could swear I saw a Yeti out my window. Maybe a Big Foot covered in snow to make him look white (given that I’m in the Pacific North West, home of Big Foot).

Although he has misspelled cooped we will take him at his word.

R.I.P. Forrest J. Ackerman - a BfRLC Obit

Please join the BfRLC in taking a moment to pay our respects to a man that all of us, whether a true science researcher such as ourselves or those who are simply science fiction afficionados, should be tipping our hats to, Forrest J. Ackerman (November 24, 1916 - December 4, 2008).

Ackerman, known as "Forry" or "4e" or "4SJ", was influential not only in the formation, organization, and spread of science fiction fandom, but had long also been a key figure in the wider cultural acceptance of science fiction as a literary, art and film genre. It is said to have been Ackerman who coined the term "sci-fi" even. Astonishing. His collection of memorablilia includes Mr. Spock's ears from Star Trek, among other truly wonderful artifacts. I can continue to go on and tell you what a life Ackerman had, but I encourage you all to research on your own.

Finally, as it is our tradition to all those who have inspired us, taught us, and believed in us, we salute you, Forrest J. Ackerman.

Time to Put Our Best Foot Forward, a commentary by bigfootpdx

I think that the plight of Bigfoot in relation to global warming is something that both Bigfoot researchers and environmentalists need to come together on to give rise to their causes. What better case is there for the fate of each dying breed (Earth and Bigfoot) than the case of the other? Environmentalists can use the case of Bigfoot's migration to show the public the effects of global warming. Bigfoot researchers can seize the opportunity to teach the public about Bigfoot and how it is endangered. Pollution given off by industry, landfills from our collective waste and deforestation in insane amounts have already left big footprints on our earth. What better time is there than now to teach the world about how we can save the earth for you, for me and for Bigfoot?

Is global warming forcing Bigfoot to move north?

On Scientific American's Website in a segment called "60-Second Science, got a minute?" Ivan Oransky writes about a science called phylogeography: The biogeographic shifts, speciation, extinction and determinants of community assembly. Its a wonderful article with great Bigfoot links...
If you were a nine-foot tall animal covered in dense fur – say, Bigfoot – you would probably seek cooler climes if temps began inching up. That’s the hypothesis one Queens College biologist posed to me last night – without, I should note, acknowledging that such an animal exists at all.

First, a bit of background on why I would have found myself in a bar in Manhattan’s Alphabet City talking about Sasquatch. The biologist in question – Mike Hickerson, who studies “biogeographic shifts, speciation, extinction and determinants of community assembly,” a.k.a. phylogeography – and I had just been to Bigfoot Night. Bigfoot Night, if you don't know, was the latest installment of Kevin Maher’s Sci Fi Screening Room. (In the interests of full disclosure, Bigfoot Night’s co-host was M. Sweeney Lawless, a friend.)

Bigfoot Night was not quite a scientific conference, but it was entertaining nonetheless. We were treated to a number of videos: A 1984 CNN segment on a town in Washington State that became alarmed after a group of Vietnam vets there decided to hunt Bigfoot in the woods. (There was potential risk to “nocturnal agricultural pursuits” and “nocturnal distillation.”) An episode of TV's The Six Million Dollar Man in which bionic hero Steve Austin fought Bigfoot. (Spoiler alert: Austin ripped Sasquatch’s arm off.) An episode of Bigfoot and Wildboy. (Watch the intro here.)

Performers also read dozens of Bigfoot "eyewitness" accounts, many of which ended with some version of “This was not a bear.” And we were treated to a truly awful movie called Skunk Ape?! featuring a punk band whose leader was hell-bent on killing a Florida swamp creature in Chicago using a harpoon. (No Bigfoot porn, much to the chagrin of some audience members.)

But I digress. The night’s science quotient went up later, when several of us from the audience went out for drinks. There, Hickerson told me about his research into what’s called environmental niche modeling. The basic idea is that you correlate sightings of any organism, or evidence of that organism, with geographical and climate data, to try to figure out where you might find other such organisms.

That’s the idea behind this study of species shifting across Yosemite, led by Hickerson’s postdoctoral advisor, Craig Moritz. You can see how such work would be useful not only in trying to forecast where animals and plants might move, but also in predicting places we might find endangered species where we previously have not. Combine that with new tools like Google Earth, and it’s understandable why the field has taken off.

Hickerson told me that evolutionary meetings now feature hundreds of papers on the subject, compared to practically none just two or three years ago. He uses it to study a number of plants and animals, in particular those such as seaweed and barnacles that live in rocky intertidal regions.

But such modeling could also be used to study Bigfoot. So as a joke, Hickerson, who spent about eight years in Washington State working in forests (where, he says, he heard “some weird stuff” at night), and his colleagues are taking all of the Bigfoot footprint and sighting data to try to figure out where the creatures might be found. That is, if they exist, which Hickerson says is an incredibly big if. (Note to believers: He’s a open-minded skeptic, not one of you.)

Tongue planted firmly in cheek, he then told me that they still need more data, particularly from Canada, but his preliminary read is that there have been more sightings in northern parts of Sasquatch habitat lately.

“Maybe Sasquatch is moving up north,” Hickerson suggested sarcasticaly.

Watch out, Canada.

Photo of Dan Raspler in a Bigfoot costume – or not? -- courtesy Marian Brock
Read Original Article

Famous film of Bigfoot: Big hoax?

A Michigan paper named Kalamazoo claims to debunk the famous Patterson/Gimlin with the help of the cable channel TVLand owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Kalamazoo

BY ERIC COOK

Special to the Gazette

A Kalamazoo native's story helps to debunk the myth of Bigfoot tomorrow on TV Land.

It was 1967 when costume-maker Philip Morris got an unusual phone call from a guy asking about a gorilla costume. ``We had been advertising our costumes in a lot of trade magazines, so I was used to getting phone calls, but this was different,'' said Morris, whose costume company Morris Costumes in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest in the nation.

``The man on the phone, who said his name was Roger Patterson, wanted to buy a gorilla suit and asked if it looked like a real gorilla,'' said Morris, a Kalamazoo Central graduate. ``I told him that it looked like a Hollywood gorilla, but he said he wanted something that looked more like a Neanderthal. What he wanted was Bigfoot.''

Intrigued, Morris asked Patterson what the costume was for. ``He said the costume was for a prank, but I thought that was pretty odd because these were expensive suits,'' said Morris. ``Our customers were movie studios and famous magicians, the suits cost $450 back then. That is like over $1,000 today. I thought it was odd to spend so much on a prank, but I sent him the costume.''

Two weeks after sending out the costume, Morris got another phone call from Patterson. ``He asked me to send him some extra fur and asked how to hide the zipper in the back and how to make the person in the costume look larger,'' Morris said. ``I told him to brush the fur over the zipper and use hair spray to hold it, and then get some football shoulder pads and sticks for the arms to give the illusion of being taller, and use stuffing to get more bulk.''

Two months later, Patterson was all over the news with a video he ``captured'' of Bigfoot while hunting in northern California. ``I was watching TV when I saw Patterson and his film on the news,'' Morris said. ``I called my wife from the other room and said, `Look it's our gorilla costume.'''

The film has since become the most famous footage of Bigfoot and has ignited a controversy over its authenticity. With a large clientele of magicians, Morris decided not to tell anyone that it was his gorilla costume in the film.

``As a costume and special-effects producer, I have an ethical code I have to uphold,'' Morris said. ``I couldn't go out telling secrets and expect magicians to trust me with their props. That is why I didn't say anything. Plus I thought he would come clean in a few weeks.''

Patterson never admitted it was a hoax, but after his death in the 1980s Morris decided it was OK to tell people it was his suit in the film.

``Most people believe me, but there are people that are very hostile to me when I tell them it is a hoax,'' Morris said. ``It is like telling them Santa Claus doesn't exist. They grew up believing it was true and do not want to admit to themselves it's fake.''
Read Original Article

Reality Films Releases Wildman of Kentucky DVD

Title: The Wildman of Kentucky, the Mystery of Panther Rock
Genre: Bigfoot, Supernatural, History
Buy At Amazon
Buy At Reality Store


The Wildman of Kentucky, the Mystery of Panther Rock

There is probably no other unknown creature that arouses more curiosity than the Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Yes, there is the Loch Ness Monster, the Chupacabra and other great beasts of Lore but the Bigfoot remains the most compelling as it pulls us towards ourselves…shadowing the unknown X factor of our very origins. The case files contain thousands of reported sightings, yet no actual specimen has ever been found. Hundreds of photographs exist, but the creature has not been identified. Still, the clues accumulate year after year. In the words of one Bigfoot investigator, “It is an extremely complex phenomenon with no starting point and few geographical limits.” If this creature does exist then it most certainly must be a relative of man.

Species? Unknown at this time

In the heart of Kentucky there is an ancient and sacred ground known as Panther Rock. For many years tales of strange events have been reported but never investigated in full. Now, for the first time an intrepid group of explorers ventures into the unknown to discover the truth. Join the Reality Team of Special Investigators as they uncover new Bigfoot witnesses and historical tales. Journey with them into the dark woods of the Frazier Land and witness amazing paranormal and often terrifying events.

Computer Generated Recreations – Music by Freakhouse and other Reality Artists- Exclusive Footage and Expert Witnesses – New Interpretations of Strange Phenomena Footage of the Unknown in Anderson, County KY

The Wildman of Kentucky, the Mystery of Panther Rock

120 minutes, 24.95 USD RYE 1036

Dr. Richard Leaky

The New Revolution In HUMAN ORIGINS
A New Reality is emerging, and it represents nothing short of an intellectual revolution. A global thinker, influential environmentalist and world-renown paleoanthropologist, Leakey has been making international headlines for more than 30 years

Yes its true. A few select Lunch clubbers were able to win this months grand prize, a chance to hear the world renowned Dr. Richard Leaky speak. In the picture is Joel, our east coast division researcher, Guy Edwards the designer and goto graphics person for the blog and newest member Jemina, she is currently studying biology among other academic endeavors and brings credibility to our research. As co-founder I can't wait to hear more about their time with the great doctor whom I met in Kenya several years ago. Congratulations kids.

Legend of Sasquatch Stomping to DVD

Ever since the Georgia hoax news has been slow, but rest assured all of us at BfRLC are still on the forefront of Bf News as you can see by this post.Image Ent. will release Gorilla Pictures’ CG-animated family film The Legend of Sasquatch on DVD on Oct. 21. Featuring the voices of Oscar Winner William Hurt (The Incredible Hulk), John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones trilogies) and Jewel Restaneo (Easter Sunday), the movie tells the story of a family that moves to a secluded log cabin and discover a Bigfoot family hiding nearby.

Marking the diretorial debut of visual effects supervisior Thomas Callicoat (Soft Target, Sci-Fighter), Legend of Sasquatch centers on a little girl who discovers that sasquatch aren't the scary monsters they’re made out to be, but rather friendly and gentle creatures. When a new dam threatens to flood thier cave home, the sasquatch turn to their human friends for help in preserving their ancient, secret way of life.

Winner of the award for Best Feature Film–Animation at the 2007 International Family Film Festival, the movie was written by Callicoat and exec produced by Bill J. Gottlieb. William Hurt serves as co-producer. Associate producers are Jonathan Freeman, Kyle Lemire, John Rhys-Davies and Matthew Scott Weiner.

Special DVD features will include audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a Legend of Sasquatch quiz and special collector’s packaging featuring faux sasquatch fur. The disc will carry a suggested retail price of $27.98.

The Sasquatch Sequel

Bigfoot hunters are still reeling from the latest hoax, but some scientists keep the faith.
By Matthew Philips | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Aug 25, 2008 | Updated: 2:11 p.m. ET Aug 25, 2008

An apostle of what he calls "the behind the scenes, quiet march of serious science," Meldrum has been investigating the possible existence of the creature called Sasquatch or Bigfoot for the last 12 years.

When Meldrum heard that Las Vegas promoter and self-described Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi was involved, and his excitement evaporated. Meldrum had dealt with what he calls Biscardi's "shenanigans" before. An irate Biscardi called Whitton and Dyer, who admitted to the hoax, then skipped town, allegedly leaving Biscardi with the bill for their Palo Alto hotel room.

Bigfoot researchers may be embarrassed by it, but not all publicity is bad publicity. The latest hoax lit up the Bigfoot chat boards brighter than the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics.

Until then the search for Bigfoot will remain part sensationalist commercialism and part legitimate scientific research.


These are hard times for Bigfoot believers, a human subspecies that includes a fairly hairy collection of fantasists, charlatans, grifters and fools. But there is also a small coterie of serious scientists interested in the possibility—as they see it, the likelihood—that somewhere in the deep woods of North America enormous ape-men really are alive and well and just barely eluding detection.

Jeff Meldrum, a Ph.D. anthropologist at Idaho State University, is one of those researchers. An apostle of what he calls "the behind the scenes, quiet march of serious science," Meldrum has been investigating the possible existence of the creature called Sasquatch or Bigfoot for the last 12 years. His 2006 book, "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science" (Forge), offers the most thorough compilation and analysis of evidence to date, and was endorsed by primatologist Jane Goodall, famous for her work with chimpanzees, who is an adamant Bigfoot believer herself.

Yet such is the call of all the wild stories about this mythic creature that even Meldrum let himself hope against hope when he started to hear reports in July that two men had dragged the body of a Bigfoot-like beast out of the north Georgia woods and frozen it solid in a 1,500-pound block of ice. The news sounded like the breakthrough that the Bigfoot community has been waiting for: a body, specifically DNA evidence; the proof they need to satisfy a skeptical world.

Then Meldrum heard that Las Vegas promoter and self-described Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi was involved, and his excitement evaporated. Meldrum had dealt with what he calls Biscardi's "shenanigans" before. In 2005 Biscardi brought him what he claimed was "a hand of unknown origin" that turned out to be nothing more than a bear paw in a pickle jar. That same year, Biscardi claimed to have a live, captured Bigfoot in Nevada and convinced listeners of a late-night radio show to pay $14.99 for access to his "webcam" to view the beast. Later Biscardi said he was the one who'd been duped—by an elderly woman whose claims that Bigfoot was in her backyard he'd never even checked out.

Whether Biscardi really believed that the Georgians' frozen Sasquatch was the real deal or not--and he insists that he did—he certainly knew how to turn the story into a hot topic for the 24/7 news cycle in a country that's more than a little weary of politics, war and economic woes.

You'd have thought one look at the YouTube clips posted by the two Georgia men who claimed the discovery would be enough to tip off even the blindest of the faithful that this was bogus. In one, Matt Whitton, a sheriff's deputy then on sick leave for getting shot in the hand (and now reportedly fired for perpetrating the hoax) has his brother pose as an absurdly implausible "very busy scientist." In others, Whitton and his partner, Rick Dyer, a former corrections officer, simply drive around to the theme of "Knight Rider," proclaiming themselves the "best Bigfoot trackers in the world."

Yet because Biscardi had the audacity to promise DNA evidence, photos, and even video of Bigfoot creatures lurking in the woods, some 50 media outlets flocked to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Palo Alto, Calif., on Aug. 15 for the press conference that Biscardi had set up: ABC, CBS, The Associated Press … NEWSWEEK.

By the end of the day, this latest installment in the Bigfoot saga was the most-viewed story on MSNBC and CNN.com, which carried live coverage of the 45-minute conference that Friday afternoon. But, then, despite the excitement, the proof proved nonexistent. The pictures were laughable. There was no video. And the DNA evidence? It came back possum. "It means he'd probably eaten one," insisted Biscardi, who at the time had taken the Georgians under his wing but now says he plans to sue them for fraud. Their lawyer says they were the ones who were duped as Biscardi spun their little joke into a national news event.

Biscardi says he and his backers shelled out $50,000 for the body, only to discover days later that—shock!—it was nothing but a costume stuffed with animal parts: ham bones, intestines, eyes, teeth, an entire pig and, it would seem, some possum. "We're still pulling things out of it," says Bob Schmalzbach, one of Biscardi's associates who went to Georgia the day before the press conference to deliver $50,000 in cash to Whitton and Dyer. He said he thought what he saw in the block of ice was the real deal. "I could see a silhouette. I chipped the ice down to teeth and eyeballs, and thought, "This is a real animal here." So Schmalzbach handed over the money and hauled away the enormous Sasquatch-sicle in a trailer while toasting his fellow Bigfoot hunters. "We were sure we'd solved the mystery."

By Sunday morning the jig was up. The body had thawed enough for Schmalzbach to see it was a rubber costume. An irate Biscardi called Whitton and Dyer, who admitted to the hoax, then skipped town, allegedly leaving Biscardi with the bill for their Palo Alto hotel room.

Bigfoot investigators who hope to be taken seriously claim the hoax is a blight on the reputation of an industry, if not a science. "This kind of stuff discredits what we're trying to do and has ticked off a lot of people," says Matt Moneymaker, head of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, a group based in Orange County, Calif., that has catalogued thousands of reported sightings since it launched in 1995. For the last four years, BFRO has organized almost weekly expeditions across the country. Members make audio recordings of supposed Bigfoot calls, study footprints, ride around on all-terrain vehicles, use night-vision goggles--and charge spectators for the chance to tag along.

Moneymaker says what his group does is legit research compared to the P. T. Barnum approach of a Biscardi. But the great 19th-century huckster and hoaxer who famously said "there's a sucker born every minute" also said, more usefully, and perhaps more truthfully, "without promotion something terrible happens … Nothing!" Bigfoot researchers may be embarrassed by it, but not all publicity is bad publicity. The latest hoax lit up the Bigfoot chat boards brighter than the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics.

"It very much sets us back, but it also teaches us a lesson and shows us we need to think ahead," says Loren Coleman, a zoologist and consultant to such TV shows as NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" and the Discovery Channel's "In the Unknown." But Coleman's Sasquatch-centric Web site, Cryptomundo.com, crashed when it got 5 million hits the hour after he posted a picture of the Georgia creature slumped in a freezer. The next day traffic was up to 13 million hits every 10 minutes, proof that Bigfoot curiosity will not die even if the creature never lived.

"It's aggravating that a person like [Biscardi] garners the press because of sensationalism," says Jeff Meldrum, an Idaho anthropologist who is an expert in foot morphology and locomotion in monkeys, apes and hominids. "There are certainly activities that are laughable," says Meldrum. "But there are also those that are attempting to legitimize a very serious inquiry into the possible existence of a relic population of great ape. This is my odyssey, this is my quest."

Over the last dozen years, Meldrum has collected and studied more than 200 plaster casts of footprints, some as big as 16 inches, made from across the United States and Canada. On them he notes details such as ridge lines and tendon indentations that he says would be impossible for fraudsters to fabricate. Last October, Meldrum presented some of his evidence to a symposium of 40 paleontologists at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, and emerged with a peer-reviewed published paper acknowledging that what he'd collected were not the prints of a known species, nor were they hoaxes, but genuine casts of an unknown North American primate.

Meldrum was given the authority to classify the beast with a taxonomical name, the Anthropoides Ameriborealis, which translates into North American ape. It might not seem like much compared with a body in a freezer, but in the uphill battle of Bigfoot science, it's a huge step, and as close to acknowledged scientific proof as anything seen to to date. "It has certainly helped me shift the perception from that of tabloid fodder into the arena of biology," says Meldrum. "But a new species will only be recognized when DNA is collected."

Until then the search for Bigfoot will remain part sensationalist commercialism and part legitimate scientific research.

And Meldrum, much like the creature he believes is out there, will continue his work largely unseen and unheard.
With Chanan Tigay
© 2008

Huge fossilized footprint found

Megan Trotter
Herald-Citizen Staff
Saturday, Aug 30, 2008
Harold Jackson of Cookeville measures a mysterious footprint he found near the Caney Fork River.
"(My friend said) 'That looks like a footprint.' I had seen it before, but I didn't think anything about it," said Jackson. "But then when my friend said that, I got to looking at it, and sure enough, (I thought), 'It's got to be a footprint.'"

Jackson pried the fossilized print up from the surrounding rock and brought it home. As he rinsed off the mud, he was impressed at the detail in the impression. Not only was the outline of the foot clear, but also the impression of the toes, the heal and the ball of the foot. Looking at it from the side, he could see where the weight of the walker had pressed the now hardened mud tightly together directly under the print, whereas the fossilized mud down deeper was not as closely packed.

After studying it closely, Jackson is still unsure of what the footprint is from, but whatever it was, it was big.

"This is 11 inches across and 15 inches (long). And my foot's about four and a half by about 10," he said.

One of his theories is that the print might have come from a Native American. In the area where he found the print, he has found many artifacts such as arrow heads, ancient tools and even cave paintings.

"But if this was an Indian, he was a very big Indian," said Jackson.

Another theory is that it is from some kind of animal, though Jackson has no ideas as to what kind of animal it might be. The print itself appears human except for something that looks like a claw mark near the heal. Jackson suggests it might be something like a dewclaw, an undeveloped claw or digit commonly found on mammals such as dogs, cattle and deer.

However, the print is clearly not from any of these animals.

"This kind-of makes me believe in Bigfoot," said Jackson.

In a recent trip back to the site where the print came from, Jackson came across what he believes may be the print of the right foot. This one is fossilized in a much larger rock - one Jackson is unable to pull out. So for now it remains where he found it.

Jackson plans to keep the footprint that he was able to pull up, however he is willing to let scientists study it.

"I'm not wanting any credit or anything for it. I just found it and thought it might be interesting to the people to see this," he said. "I've never seen anything like it."

Read original article here.

You can also watch a video piece done by the local news here

Really Robust Bigfoot Site

Good Morning BfRL Clubber's!
In our ever diligent self-appointed duty to find only the best Bigfoot info worth Reading we have found quite a gem!

WWW.Bigfootencounters.Com is probably one of the best sites for a newbie Bf researcher to stumble upon. For one I like how it focuses on sightings located to single state of California. Although there are a few databases that cover North America and beyond, I feel like sighting reports can be personal and are equally about the local color and communities surrounding them. Bigfootencounters.com obviously believes the same and allows visitors to share their own storiesof past encounters.

The site is extremely well-planned and organized. After the California sitings database. It starts with The Classics A collection of the most famous sightings any Bf researcher worth their binoculars would know. Followed by Bigfoot creatures: the many different versions of half-men half-beast around the world. Then on to some research and science with links to anthropology and biology.

Bigfootencounters.com descibes themselves best on their first page.

This website came together through the years with the help of many wonderful people including scientists, friends, forestry, fish & game, loggers, USGS workers, Native Americans, First Nation Canadians, the Chinese, Mongolians, Russians, Tibetans, Indonesian scholars; trackers, guides, coolies, porters, translators and skilled laymen. It is primarily put together for the benefit of placing easy access information out there for those who have an interest. This website is not here to persuade, only to place information for the perusal of the interested.

I've added it to the top of my list of recommended BigFoot Web resources. Browsing through it is like taking an accellerated college course: Introduction to Bigfoot. The 1040EZ of BF411 101.

Yeti on SETI Radio

Seti has a podcast titled Skeptical Sunday. The weekly hour-long radio program features top scientists talking about the latest in genetics, paleontology, technology, physics, and evolutionary biology - as well as cosmology and astronomy. Find out how to extract DNA from a banana, what size wrench you need to build a time machine, and whether dark energy can be bottled (yes).

If you're a doubting Thomas, you'll have plenty of company when we separate science from pseudoscience on "Skeptical Sunday" each month. Hear from people who investigate alien abduction, psychics, ghosts, or the Shroud of Turin, and find out how they sort out the facts from the phony. It's the world of skepticism. But don't take our word for it...

The topic of this last week's podcast was The Bigfoot press conference

Bigfoot Duo’s New Discovery: A Lawsuit Against Them

Below is an reprint from a blog called the Inquisitor. The tone is pretty much the same with the rest of the media. Portraying these two georgian boys as fools or idiots, or just plain jerks for lying. I just want to make sure that everybody realizes there was a man who is behind this whole mess, that probably knew how things would pan out better than anybody. His name is Tom Biscardi, CEO of Searching for Bigfoot.

I think Matt Moneymaker of BFRO says it best in an interview with National Geographic, "Now he(Tom Biscardi) is really a famous con man," Moneymaker said. "He was a con man known in Bigfoot circles for years, and now it won't be long before everybody knows it."

BfRLC Salutes you Matt, for boldly speaking up and letting the rest of world what's what.

Anyway on with lawsuit info...


The Inquisitor
Odd : JR Raphael
The two goons who wasted the world’s time by claiming they’d found Bigfoot are now finding themselves on the receiving end of a lawsuit.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer went the full nine yards with a news conference, DNA tests (that showed nothing), and all sorts of empty promises last week. Of course, it was all a hoax — and, as many had initially suspected, the creature was no more than a frozen Halloween costume filled with some random roadkill.

Now, the company that helped publicize the whole debacle is demanding cash from the country bumpkins. Searching for Bigfoot paid the doofuses $50,000 for the rights to their story, and it’s not happy the whole thing’s been exposed as fraud.

The good ol’ boys from Georgia, for their part, now claim it was all just a big joke and that Searching for Bigfoot is to blame for “blowing it out of proportion.” They say they never did it to make money — even though they’re still holding onto that $50K that somehow made it into their hands. Oh yeah, and they’re also selling Bigfoot stuff on their own web site.

“It started off as some YouTube videos and a website,” one of them told Atlanta’s WSB-TV in his first interview this week. “We’re all about having fun.”

That same man — who was a police officer in Clayton County, Georgia — has been fired from the force as a result of the scam.

Smart fellers, those Georgians.


Original article here

Japan Yeti Hunters Hope 3rd Time's a Charm

By Gopal Sharma
Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:51pm IST

KATHMANDU (Reuters Life!) - It seems the search for mythical creatures goes on.

Less than a week after two men in the United States claimed they had found the remains of a half-man, half-ape Bigfoot, which actually turned out to be a rubber gorilla suit, a team of Japanese climbers began trekking on Wednesday to a mountain in Nepal hoping to find the Yeti, or abominable snowman.

Seven climbers, supported by sherpas and carrying cameras and telescopes, will spend 50 days on the lower reaches of the 7,661-metre (25,134-ft) Dhaulagiri IV to try and collect evidence of the beast's existence, team leader Yoshiteru Takahashi said.

Takahashi, who carried out similar missions in the same area in 1994 and 2003, told Reuters that one of his team members and three sherpas had seen "something like the Yeti" from a distance five years ago.

"We believe that was the Yeti," said Takahashi, a 65-year-old employee of a Tokyo furniture company. "So we are going to search for a third time. We need photographs and video tapes to prove it. It is very important."

Sherpas and climbers often narrate stories about a wild hairy creature roaming the Himalayas. Those tales have captured the imagination of foreign climbers of Mount Everest since the 1920s prompting many, including Everest hero Sir Edmund Hillary, to carry out hunts for the Yeti.

Some climbers even claim to have found Yeti footprints, but no one has yet actually seen it or produced irrefutable proof.

The Japanese will pitch three camps, manned by two researchers each, between 3,400 meters (11,154 feet) and 4,300 meters (14,100 feet) above base camp.

They will use binoculars during the day and also have long-lens cameras to take pictures at night.

"I want to shake hands if I meet him," said T. Onishi, another member of the team. "But it is very difficult. They are shy, so we want to just take pictures."

(Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and Miral Fahmy)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Read Original Article Here

Darn Good Bigfoot Research

hey BfRL Clubber's theres some darn good research goin' on at http://sopebocks.blogspot.com/ they go into far greater detail into the georgian gorilla. Too much to repost here. From all of us at the Bigfoot Researcher's Lunch Club We salute you Charlie and keep up the good work!

'There's something out there,' Sasquatch expert tells Edmonton

Bill Mah , Canwest News Service
Published: Sunday, August 17, 2008
EDMONTON - When news broke Friday that two self-proclaimed sasquatch trackers in the state of Georgia claimed to have one of the fabled ape creatures in their freezer, Jeff Meldrum was quickly pulled into the story. After all, he's one of the few PhDs conducting field work on Bigfoot and reporters were quick to search him out for comment.

He was unimpressed about photos posted by the Georgians on the Internet.

And on Sunday, speaking in Edmonton Sunday at the Royal Alberta Museum on his research into Bigfoot that started when he discovered an unexplained set of tracks in the mountains of Washington state, he hadn't changed his mind.


Rick Dyer, 31, holds a picture he claims is the mouth of Bigfoot in Palo Alto, California, August 15, 2008. Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is a mythical ape-like creature said to live in forests of the Pacific northwest region of the United States.
Reuters

"It was not compelling in the least," said Meldrum, an associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University and an affiliate curator at the Idaho Museum of Natural History.

"It didn't have the bulk or the mass. It seemed to be vacuous, the hair did not look natural and the face bears a striking resemblance to an off-the-shelf costume."

Still, he's quick to point out the real creature could very well be out there in the woods somewhere. There's just too much evidence to ignore.

Meldrum, author of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, said such likely hoaxes as the one in Georgia are damaging to the few scientists researching the field.

"People who are not well-informed on this subject matter then use this incident as a litmus test of the veracity of the entire subject."

His talk was part of the museum's lecture series entitled Here Be Dragons . . . and Other Creatures.

He said such evidence as many footprints and digitally enhanced versions of the grainy Patterson film shot in 1967 of a female Sasquatch show anatomical details that are difficult to fake.

"The amassed evidence of the footprints is strong evidence that there is a real animal that exhibits a consistent anatomy that is distinct from human anatomy and yet shows adaptations that are very elegantly suited to the habitat where they are reported to exist," Meldrum elaborated after his presentation.

Meldrum said he hasn't encountered face-to-face a sasquatch himself, but has seen fresh footprints on several occasions and had brushes where something has come into his camp and rifled through his backpacks, opening clasped flaps without tearing them. He's also had stones thrown at him in isolated woods.

"I'm not here to convince you that sasquatch exists," he told the audience.

"I was hoping to convey to you that there is a body of data that is extremely compelling," said Meldrum.

"I am convinced there is something out there. Something is leaving footprints. There's something out there that begs for our consideration."




© Edmonton Journal 2008

"Bigfoot" fails DNA test

Reuters
Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:48pm EDT

Results from tests on genetic material from alleged remains of one of the mythical half-ape and half-human creatures, made public at a news conference on Friday held after the claimed discovery swept the Internet, failed to prove its existence.

Its spread was fueled by a photograph of a hairy heap, bearing a close resemblance to a shaggy full-body gorilla costume, stuffed into a container resembling a refrigerator.

One of the two samples of DNA said to prove the existence of the Bigfoot came from a human and the other was 96 percent from an opossum, according to Curt Nelson, a scientist at the University of Minnesota who performed the DNA analysis.

Bigfoot creatures are said to live in the forests of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. An opossum is a marsupial about the size of a house cat.

Results of the DNA tests were revealed in an e-mail from Nelson and distributed at the Palo Alto, California, news conference held by Tom Biscardi, host of a weekly online radio show about the Bigfoot.

Also present were Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, the two who say they discovered the Bigfoot corpse while hiking in the woods of northern Georgia. They also are co-owners of a company that offers Bigfoot merchandise.

Despite the dubious photo and the commercial interests of the alleged discoverers, the Bigfoot claim drew interest from Australia to Europe and even The New York Times.

Biscardi said the DNA samples may not have been taken correctly and may have been contaminated, and that he would proceed with an autopsy of the alleged Bigfoot remains, currently in a freezer at an undisclosed location.

(Reporting by Clare Baldwin in Palo Alto; writing by Jim Christie; editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Henderson)

CNN Coverage of Bf Press Conference

www.cnn.com is now playing the conference with the searchers from Georgia. The BfRLC will take in the press conference and have a posting sometime soon. This could be it folks....

We Got Their Attention. Now What?

Okay Folks. All you Bf hunters, enthusiasts and lunch clubbers, let's not let this new found attention go to waste. We really need to get the message across that Cryptozoology is research is founded on anthropology, biology, zoology. Refer to the Gigantopithicas theory posited by Grover Krantz of Washington State University. You could discuss how the research and debate is very active. Reference Loren Coleman's alternative theory proposing that Bigfoot lineage may have departed futher back than Giganto.

Discuss how the Giant Panda and the Low land Gorilla was only discovered within the last century 8000 of them just this last year. Real or Hoax, the Georgian Gorilla has afforded us, all of us a tremendous opportunity to share the our determined community tied together by a single curiosity in pursuit of an elusive creature mention in myth and famed by film.

You can stereotype conspiracy theorist, ghost chasers, and ufologist, but Bigfoot researchers are as diverse a group as this great country we all live in. I'm sure if we started to talk about politics or religeon we may discover how different we are, but we dont, we support each other, encourage each other and focus on what we have in common. So if the Media comes knocking on your door asking you about this corpse in Georgia, tell 'em about what Bigfoot research is all about. The pursuit of discovery.

Captured Bf Body Pics Analyzed

Here at BfRLC Labs we have taken the photo of the captured Georgia Gorilla, varied the midtones, shifted the contrast, and even reduce the noise to see if we could somehow gain more detail from the photo of the alleged Bigfoot corpse.

This is the most we could get out of the head and face. There does not seem to be much skull or teeth support under the skin. The face almost flattens sideways. However we were able to reveal the texture of the eyesockets and actually get more definition to the snout.

For reference you can see the two areas of interest where we decided to focus on, hoping to reveal any tell-tell clues.

Not as clean as we had hoped but a close up of the entrails does suggest they may have originated from a smaller animal. Even if we are seeing a partial intestine, the sudden tapering at any end can help estimate the length and size of an intestine. this one seems to taper too suddenly for a 500 pound animal.

Over all the jury at BfRLC is still out. We are anxious to hear what will be revealed Friday. As the first website to post the captured bigfoot last month we will contiue to keep you up to date with the latest and most up to date Bigfoot news anywhere.

BfRLC Scoops all Media

With all hoopla about the Georgia Gorilla, all of us here wanted to remind our constant readers that you heard it here first -- way back on July 27th. The post was entitled "Bigfoot Capture?" Ironically enough it had a picture of a guy in a gorilla suit. And as Co-Founder of the BfRLC, I just want to thank my great team for finding this story almost a month before the rest of the internet did. BfRLC team I salute you!

Official Georgia Gorilla Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2008
BIGFOOT BODY FOUND
DNA evidence and photo evidence to be presented at a
PRESS CONFERENCE
to be held on
Date: Friday, August 15, 2008
Time: From 12Noon-1:00pm
Place: Cabana Hotel-Palo Alto (A Crown Plaza Resort) 4290 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California 94306

Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. Menlo Park, California
Tom Biscardi, CEO

BIGFOOT BODY FOUND - EVIDENCE AND DNA DETAILS TO BE PRESENTED AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 15th

FROM 12 N00N TO 1:00PM AT THE CABANA HOTEL-PALO ALTO IN PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA

A body that may very well be the body of the creature commonly known as “Bigfoot” has been found in the woods in northern Georgia.

DNA evidence and photo evidence of the creature will be presented in a press conference on Friday, August 15th from 12 Noon to 1:00pm at the Cabana Hotel-Palo Alto at 4290 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, California, 94306. The press conference will not be open to the public. It will only be open to credentialed members of the press.
Here are some of the vital statistics on the “Bigfoot” body:
*The creature is seven feet seven inches tall.
*It weighs over five hundred pounds.
*The creature looks like it is part human and part ape-like.
*It is male.
*It has reddish hair and blackish-grey eyes.
*It has two arms and two legs, and five fingers on each hand and
five toes on each foot.
*The feet are flat and similar to human feet.
*Its footprint is sixteen and three-quarters inches long and five and three-quarters inches wide at the heel.
*From the palm of the hand to the tip of the middle finger, its hands are
eleven and three-quarters inches long and six and one-quarter inches wide.
*The creatures walk upright. (Several of them were sighted on the same day that the body was found.)
*The teeth are more human-like than ape-like.
*DNA tests are currently being done and the current DNA and photo evidence will be presented at the press conference on Friday, August 15th.

The creature was found by Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer (residents of Georgia) in the woods in northern Georgia. (The exact location is being kept secret to protect the creatures.)
Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer will be flying in from Georgia to be at the press conference. Also present at the press conference will be Tom Biscardi, CEO of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc.
Whitton is a Clayton County, Georgia, police officer, who is currently on administrative leave after being wounded in the course of duty pursuing an alleged felon. Dyer is a former correctional officer. Whitton and Dyer are co-owners of bigfoottracker.com and Bigfoot Global LLC., a company that offers Bigfoot expeditions. Whitton and Dyer are working with Bigfoot hunter, Tom Biscardi, and Biscardi’s Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., to present and conduct the scientific study of the evidence and information on this body.
A few weeks ago, Whitton and Dyer announced the finding of the body on the “Squatch Detective” radio show, an internet based radio show hosted by Steve Kulls. While on that show, the commentator asked Rick Dyer “Would you allow one of our people to come down and verify the body?” Dyer replied, “The only person we would allow to come down and verify the body was ‘the real Bigfoot Hunter,’ Tom Biscardi.” The next day, the producer of the Squatch Detective show contacted Biscardi with pertinent information on how to contact Dyer and Whitton.
Extensive scientific studies will be done on the body by a team of scientists including a molecular biologist, an anthropologist, a paleontologist and other scientists over the next few months at an undisclosed location. The studies will be carefully documented and the findings will be released to the world, according to Biscardi.
Biscardi is known as “the real Bigfoot Hunter” because of his extensive investigations out in the field. He has been searching for Bigfoot since 1971 and over the past several years, he has been criss-crossing the United States and Canada tracking down the hottest leads on Bigfoot sightings.
Videography on the studies will be done under the supervision of Scott Davis, an independent producer and owner of TV Biz Productions in Phoenix, Arizona.
Currently, Tom Biscardi and his Searching for Bigfoot Team, in conjunction with Bigfoot Global LLC., are preparing to capture another of these creatures alive. That expedition will start very soon. The dates and the locations are being kept confidential.
The body that is currently being studied is being referred to as the “RICKMAT” creature, a name derived from the names of Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton. [Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman recommends the term “Georgia Gorilla” be used to remove any taint of ego from the discovery, and so the general public, media, and science will have a comfortable moniker until a formal zoological name may be bestowed.]
Last year, a film that Biscardi produced about his investigations, called “Bigfoot Lives,” won first place in the Documentary category at the Pocono Mountains Film Festival. Biscardi also hosts a Bigfoot oriented internet radio show that can be heard on Wednesday nights from 7:00pm to 8:00pm PDT at www.bigfootliveradioshow.com. The show is heard in over thirty countries.
Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. has exclusive rights to all publishing rights, photo rights, television and film rights, production and distribution rights and other commercial opportunities related to the discovery and findings regarding this body and these creatures.
Interested parties may contact Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., in writing, at their mailing address, 1134 Crane St., Suite 216, Menlo Park, California 94025.

Update - Dead Bigfoot Pictures Now Online, Press Conference Scheduled

In the most exciting Bigfoot news to come along in a while, photos of the recently found dead Bigfoot creature have been posted online and a press conference to go over DNA and photo evidence are scheduled for this Friday, August 15th. Check out the link http://www.inquisitr.com/2357/has-bigfoot-been-found/ which shows the photos and the time and other pertinent info regarding the press conference. The photos have a rather tall, hairy creature in what looks to be some sort of freezer. Again, the BfRLC will monitor this event and report as we know more info. Keep on checking in...and make sure to follow our news ticker as it will have up to the minute news regarding this hot story.

Bf Corpse Discovered in Georgia

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, Georgia residents who lead Bigfoot-tracking expeditions, say they found the body of what appears to be a Bigfoot in the woods of northern Georgia and will join local Bigfoot researcher Tom Biscardi at a news conference, according to Robert Barrows, who is publicizing the event.
Among the creatures's other physical characteristics of the body -- according to the hunters website -- http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com/ -- were flat feet similar to human feet. Its footprint is 16 ¾ inches long and the length from palm to tip of the middle finger is 11 ½ inches long.
"I think you'll find that this is the real deal," Barrows said of the alleged discovery.
The Bigfoot Researchers Lunch Club will be keeping close tabs on this story as it develops. As of yet, no body has been produced, nor has the group let the public know where the body is being kept. This could very well be it! Stay tuned to the BfRLC for up to the minute information.

Bigfoot Researchers Unite for Rick Emerson Address today 8/8/8 at 2 pm

Greetings fellow Bf Researchers,

Please be aware that today, 888 at 2 pm, Rick Emerson will be adressing the masses. If possible, tune in to am970, online at www.970.am for this historic moment. Although the BFRLC does not generally promote non-Bf related items, we find Rick's address to be something that will benefit people everywhere. Thanks for tuning in!

Neandertal DNA Deciphered

By Tina Hesman SaeyWeb edition : Thursday, August 7th, 2008

Results show modern humans, Neandertals diverged 660,000 years ago

Now there’s even more scientific proof that you are not a Neandertal, no matter what anyone says.

An international consortium of researchers reports in the Aug. 8 Cell that for the first time the complete sequence of mitochondrial DNA from a Neandertal has been deciphered. Comparison of the Neandertal sequence with mitochondrial sequences from modern humans confirms that the two groups belong to different branches of humankind’s family tree, diverging 660,000 years ago.

That date is not statistically different from previous estimates of the split between humans and Neandertals, says Erik Trinkaus, a paleoanthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis. The sequence also doesn’t reveal what happened to drive Neandertals to extinction, but it does clear up some discrepancies in earlier studies.

“It’s a major tidying-up of a lot of loose ends,” Trinkaus says.

At 16,565 bases long, the new sequence is the largest stretch of Neandertal DNA ever examined. The DNA was isolated from a 38,000-year-old bone found in a cave in Croatia.

“It’s a nice accomplishment and the next important step toward completing the Neandertal genome,” says Stephan Schuster of Pennsylvania State University in University Park. Schuster is part of a group that is sequencing the genomes of the mammoth and other extinct animals, but was not involved in the current study. “It’s a nice landmark on the way to saying what makes modern humans so s

pecial.”

In order to know exactly how modern humans and Neandertals differ, scientists will need to examine DNA from the Neandertal’s entire genome. The sequence reported in the new study was generated as part of a project to decode Neandertal DNA, but it contains information only about DNA from mitochondria.

Mitochondria are organelles that generate energy for a cell. Inside each mitochondrion is a circular piece of DNA that contains genes encoding some of the key proteins responsible for power generation. Mitochondria are passed down from mothers to their children. Scientists use variations in mitochondrial DNA as a molecular clock to tell how fast species are evolving.

Scientists have previously examined a short piece of Neandertal mitochondrial DNA known as the hypervariable region, but this new complete sequence helps clear up some ambiguities from studies comparing Neandertals and humans, says John Hawks, a biological anthropologist from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Some modern humans have several changes in the hypervariable region that made it seem as if Neandertals are more closely related to modern humans than humans are to each other.

“Comparing the complete mitochondrial DNA genomes of a Neandertal and many recent humans presents a very different picture,” Hawks says. “Humans are all more similar to each other, than any human is to a Neandertal. And in fact the Neandertal sequence is three or more times as different, on average, from us as we are from each other. This change from the earlier picture is a purely statistical one, but it makes a clearer picture.”

Human and Neandertal mitochondrial DNAs differ at 206 positions out of the 16,565 examined, while modern humans differ at only about 100 positions when compared with each other.

The mitochondrial genome contains 13 genes, blueprints for stringing amino acids together to make proteins. The researchers examined the nature of changes within those genes to learn how proteins evolve. Generally, changes that alter the amino acid sequence of a protein are bad because they disrupt the way a protein works or interacts with other proteins, says Richard Green, a computational biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Neandertals have more amino-acid altering changes in their mitochondrial genes than do other primates, Green and his colleagues found.

“This really demands an explanation,” Green says. One scenario that could explain the finding is that Neandertals had very small effective populations long before they went extinct.

But humans also have changes in some of their mitochondrial genes. One gene, called COX2, had four changes specific to humans. Neandertals, chimpanzees and other primates don’t have those changes. “This tells us these changes happened very recently and perhaps conferred some selective advantage” for humans, Green says. The data reinforce the notion that humans are evolving faster than other primates and “it gets us closer to understanding what it means to be a fully modern human.”

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org

Bigfoot group has busy agenda

What is it with Big foot Groups and their four-letter acronyms and why are they so busy? That was my best Andy Rooney impression. But really theres the Bigfoot Research Organization (BFRO), Michigan Bigfoot Information Center (MBIC), Sasquatch Bigfoot Research Unit (SBRU), Alliance of Independent Bigfoot Researchers (AIBR), Ohio Bigfoot Research Team (OBRT), Texas Bigfoot Research Center (TBRC)...the list goes on and on. And now Elusive Primates of North America (EPNA).

We at the BfRLC have dared enough to add a fifth letter to our
acronym but that's the kind of mavericks we are -- and promise to
always be.

Meanwhile read how busy EPNA are in this article from The Sand Mountain Reporter



By Lionel GreenThe Reporter
Published August 5, 2008


An area Bigfoot research group is busy this summer with planned expeditions near Douglas and Guntersville.


“We just had a report in Cleveland; the police department was chasing a large hairy man off (Alabama) Highway 160,” said Hawk Spearman, a founder of the Alabama chapter of the Elusive Primates of North America. “I’m trying to get in touch with the police officers to get more details from them.”


EPNA meets again Aug. 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Oneonta Public Library.


If you add to all the activity a widely circulated story of two men in Georgia who say they have a Bigfoot corpse in their possession, Spearman will have plenty to discuss at the meeting.


“The biggest thing we’re going to be talking about is the supposed Bigfoot find and how it’s going to impact the Bigfoot community,” said Spearman, who heads EPNA in Alabama with his wife, Karen.


The discovery allegedly involves a law enforcement officer and an associate claiming to have found the dead body of a Bigfoot while on an expedition in the mountains of north Georgia. The men are releasing very little information but say they are preserving the large body in a freezer and will reveal the corpse Sept. 1. They insist it’s not a hoax, but many are skeptical because of their lack of professionalism in videos on YouTube.


Spearman is hopeful but wary of the purported discovery.


“I’m in between,” he said. “I believe it’s possible it could happen. If this is a prank, it will be the biggest hoax ever, and the ones that actually believed, it’s going to make them look really, really bad.”


In the meantime, EPNA is planning three expeditions in the next couple of months, including two in Marshall County. The first is an overnight trip in Ashville at the end of this month followed by a search in Horton near Douglas off Alabama 75 in mid-September.


At the end of September or first of October, EPNA is looking at an overnight excursion in the forests surrounding Lake Guntersville.


Spearman said the expeditions are free, but participants will have to pay for their campsites on the overnight trips.


“Anybody’s welcome,” Spearman said. “They’ll need a flashlight and plaster of Paris just in case footprints are found. We believe if you find the evidence, it’s yours.” No firearms or alcohol is allowed on the expeditions. For more information about the Alabama chapter of EPNA, call 205-589-4622 or 205-359-0130 or visit www.epna.webs.com on the Internet.

Copyright © 2008 Sand Mountain Reporter

'Yeti hair' sent to lab for DNA tests

From correspondents in London

A BRITISH scientist is anxiously awaiting the results of DNA tests on hair claimed to be from a yeti after initial examinations showed it had human and ape-like characteristics.

Ian Redmond, a biologist and expert in ape conservation, said the hairs found in the Indian jungle resembled samples collected by the conqueror of Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, in the 1950s.

"Under the microscope, they look slightly human, slightly like an orang-utan and slightly like the hairs brought back by Edmund Hillary," Dr Redmond said.

"These hairs remain an enigma. They could be a new species, but the DNA tests will hopefully tell us more."

The hairs were brought back from India this year by BBC journalist Alastair Lawson, who contacted Dr Redmond and was put in touch with a team at Oxford Brookes University in south central England.

Lawson was given the hairs by yeti believer Dipu Marak, who retrieved them them in dense jungle in the Meghalaya state of India after a forester allegedly spotted the creature on three consecutive days in 2003.

Mr Marak believes the hairs come from an ape-like Indian version of the fabled yeti, or abominable snowman, called mande barung, which he believes stands about 3m tall.

Dr Redmond and scientists from Oxford Brookes examined the hairs last Thursday under powerful microscopes, comparing them with samples taken from an Asiatic black bear, yaks, orang utangs and gorillas at Oxford's Natural History Museum and even a hair from Dr Redmond's beard.

"The hairs are complete with the cuticle, and between 3.3cm and 4.4cm long and thick and wiry and curved," Dr Redmond said.

"At one point we thought they looked like they came from a wild boar. That was quite a tense moment, but when we got a sample from the museum it turned out they were quite different."

Dr Redmond also contacted the English laboratory that analysed the hairs brought back by Hillary in the 1950s from his Everest expedition and found they were similar in appearance.

While the microscope tests were inconclusive, the hairs are now undergoing DNA tests in separate laboratories in Oxford and Cardiff.

Dr Redmond admitted his excitement at a potential scientific breakthrough was tinged with fear.

"My concern is that if we do find something unusual, it will be from a very small population of animals and I would want to talk to the State Government and Indian Government so they are not inundated with people trying to catch one for a museum.

"I want us to approach this in a 21st century and not a 19th century way."


Reprinted from the Sun

Yeti Hairs DNA Test: Update

UK experts optimistic about 'yeti' hairs

British experts say tests on hairs claimed to come from a yeti in an Indian jungle show they bear "a startling resemblance" to those brought back from the Himalayas by famed New Zealand adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary nearly half a century ago.


"The hairs are the most positive evidence yet that a yeti might possibly exist, because they are tangible," ape expert Ian Redmond, who is co-ordinating the research, told The Independent in London.

The hairs had the same cuticle pattern as hairs brought back to Britain by the late Sir Edmund and donated to the Natural History Museum, he claimed.

"We are very excited about the preliminary results, although more tests need to be done."

The two short hairs - 33mm and 44mm long - were picked up in thick forest in the Garo hills in the mountains of northeast India five years ago after a forester reported seeing a yeti - locally known as mande barung, or "forest man".

Sir Edmund led an expedition at much higher altitudes in Nepal in 1960, and investigated reports of yeti footprints on the Ripimu Glacier at the head of the Rolwaling Valley.

But hidden microphones and cameras enmeshed in trip wires failed to capture a Nepalese yeti's likeness - or record its famous high-pitched whistle - and the Hillary team said that "yeti" footprints they had found were the tracks of a relatively small animal which had melted out in the sun.

Sir Edmund borrowed a yeti scalp from Khumjung Gompa, a Sherpa temple, to take to America and Europe to be looked at by scientists who eventually said the scalp had been made from the hide of the serow antelope - probably intended as a ceremonial hat but gradually acquiring the status of an actual scalp.

A "yeti skin" was identified as a blue bear.

The scalp might not have been the real thing, but one of its guardians, village elder Khunjo Chumbi won a debate with Professor J Millot of the Museum of Man in Paris, who suggested that yetis did not exist.

"In Nepal we have neither giraffes nor kangaroos so we know nothing about them. In France, there are no yetis, so I sympathise with your ignorance," Khunjo told him.

Bigfoot Capture?

A Clayton County Police officer says he and a friend have the body of a Bigfoot

The animal -- a legendary, hairy hominid that supposedly lives in remote forests -- is said to be dead, frozen, and "shocking."

Matthew Whitton, a 28-year-old, who has been with the department for six years, and Rick Dyer, a 31-year-old former correctional officer, posted a video on youtube.com, last week, claiming to have the male Bigfoot corpse.

Whitton and Dyer co-own bigfoottracker.com, offering exploration expeditions in the North Georgia Mountains,

On their web site Whitton and Dyer announced an alleged discovery: "We have located a family of Bigfoot, and besides the clear photos and video, we have something even more shocking, a BODY."

Stay tuned...

The Clayton County Police Department responded to the news with an official statement giving the department some distance.

"That's his own personal business," said Police Chief Jeff Turner. "That has nothing to do with the business of the Clayton County Police Department. As long as he's not engaged in any type of illegal activity, his business is his business."

Turner said it is against department policy for any officer to represent himself or herself online, as an officer or anything other than an individual, private citizen, and said he does not know that Whitton has violated that policy.

Whitton is currently on leave, recovering from a gunshot wound to his left hand during a response to a Stockbridge armed robbery earlier this month.

The people who believe in Bigfoot and are searching for evidence responded to the announcement with a mixture of disbelief, ridicule and hope. The Bigfoot Field Research Organization, a California-based group claiming there have been 61 Bigfoot sightings in Georgia, officially described Whitton and Dyer as "idiots" and "clowns," and warned their claims are a scam to advertise their business.

Tal H. Branco, an Arkansas man who writes a regular column about Bigfoot research, said a lot of Bigfoot people think the whole thing's a hoax, but a lot of people are hoping, too, that they do have a Bigfoot body.

"Maybe Whitton did obtain the hard evidence required to solve one of the world's greatest mysteries," Branco said. "It is apparently being promoted by a police officer that has everything to lose as far as his profession is concerned, if it is a game, a hoax or just a joke. On the other hand, if it is true, and the Bigfoot body is in his custody ... his decision to announce it on an Internet web site before the body was examined by an expert certainly indicates a lack of good judgment."

In one video, posted online by "RDYER678," Whitton and Dyer interview a "pathologist" who is shocked at the Bigfoot, but then, in a follow-up video, the pair admits the "doctor of pathology" is actually Whitton's brother. Standing in a kitchen, Whitton's brother says to the camera, "Live and let live. What happened to that? Guys just trying to have a little fun, you know?"

Dyer said the claims are not a prank, though, and not just an attempt to have fun. Reached on his cell phone Tuesday, he insisted the body is real and will be unveiled on Sept. 1 on the web site.

"Why would we jeopardize Matt's job? Why would we risk the embarrassment of the backlash that we would get? We just have a lot to lose if this is a hoax ... I thought Bigfoot trackers and hunters were ridiculous and I made fun of them, to be honest, and I still do. They know nothing as fact. We do," Dyer said.

Dyer said the Internet announcement and the obvious lie were meant to draw detractors and "build hype." Other Bigfoot researchers were dismissed by Dyer, and he said he and Whitton are the best trackers because they "have a body."

He said the animal is about eight-feet tall, and about equal to the size of "three silverbacks," adult male gorillas, and nothing like the reported descriptions in the books.

"I've never seen anything like this," he said. "It's a lot more than animal."

Dyer did not say how they came into possession of the carcass, and declined to let a news reporter look at it, but swore it was being well-preserved and would be revealed.

Dyer said he and Whitton plan to sell the Bigfoot body and make a lot of money.

"As of right now," he said, "we've been offered a million bucks for it, from a very credible source. But we'll make 10 times that. This will change history forever."

Reprinted from fayettedailynews.com