April Fool Cryptids from Museum of Hoaxes

Not surprisingly, April fools brings it share of "new found" cryptids. Even less surprising, these "cryptids" would show up on a top 100 list of April Fools Hoaxes at MuseumofHoaxes.com.

Consider this as Bigfoot Lunch Club's Public Service Announcement that April 1st is a fallacious day for discovering new cryptids.

#9: Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers
1995: Discover Magazine reported that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had found a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.

#12: Flying Penguins
2008: The BBC announced that camera crews filming near the Antarctic for its natural history series Miracles of Evolution had captured footage of Adélie penguins taking to the air. It even offered a video clip of these flying penguins, which became one of the most viewed videos on the internet. Presenter Terry Jones explained that, instead of huddling together to endure the Antarctic winter, these penguins took to the air and flew thousands of miles to the rainforests of South America where they "spend the winter basking in the tropical sun." A follow-up video explained how the BBC created the special effects of the flying penguins.

#14: The Body of Nessie Found
1972: On March 31 1972, a team of zoologists from Yorkshire's Flamingo Park Zoo, who were at Loch Ness searching for proof of Nessie's existence, found a mysterious carcass floating in the Loch. Initial reports claimed it weighed a ton and a half and was 15 ½ feet long. The zoologists placed the body in a van and began to transport it back to the zoo. However, the police chased down their truck and stopped it under a 1933 act of Parliament prohibiting the removal of "unidentified creatures" from Loch Ness. The body was then taken to nearby Dunfermline for examination. The discovery of the carcass received worldwide media attention. The British press dubbed it "Son of Nessie." But upon examination, Edinburgh scientists identified the creature as a bull elephant seal from the South Atlantic. The next day John Shields, Flamingo Park's education officer, confessed he had been responsible for the body. The bull elephant seal had died the week before at Dudley Zoo. He had shaved off its whiskers, padded its cheeks with stones, and kept it frozen for a week, before dumping it in the Loch and then phoning in a tip to make sure his colleagues found it. He had meant to play an April Fool's prank on his colleagues, but admitted the joke got out of hand when the police chased down their van.

#33: The Derbyshire Fairy
2007: In late March 2007, images of an 8-inch mummified creature resembling a fairy were posted on the website of the Lebanon Circle Magik Co. Accompanying text explained how the creature had been found by a man walking his dog along an old roman road in rural Derbyshire. Word of this discovery soon spread around the internet. Bloggers excitedly speculated about whether the find was evidence of the actual existence of fairies. By April 1 the Lebanon Circle website had received tens of thousands of visitors and hundreds of emails. But at the end of April 1, Dan Baines, the owner of the site, confessed that the fairy was a hoax. He had used his skills as a magician's prop-maker to create the creature. Baines later reported that, even after his confession, he continued to receive numerous emails from people who refused to accept the fairy wasn't real.

#48: Tasmanian Mock Walrus
1984: The Orlando Sentinel featured a story about a creature known as the Tasmanian Mock Walrus (or TMW for short) that many people in Florida were supposedly adopting as a pet. The creature was said to be four inches long, resembled a walrus, purred like a cat, and had the temperament of a hamster. What made it such an ideal pet was that it never had to be bathed, it used a litter box, and it ate cockroaches. In fact, a single TMW could entirely rid a house of its cockroach problem. Reportedly, some TMWs had been smuggled in from Tasmania, and there were efforts being made to breed them, but the local pest control industry was pressuring the government not to allow them into the country, fearing they would put cockroach exterminators out of business. Dozens of people called the paper trying to find out where they could obtain their own TMW. A picture of a Tasmanian Mock Walrus accompanied the article. Skeptics noted that the creature looked surprisingly similar to a Naked Mole Rat.

#66: Smaugia Volans
The April 1, 1998 online edition of Nature Magazine revealed the discovery of "a near-complete skeleton of a theropod dinosaur in North Dakota." The discovery was referred to in an article by Henry Gee discussing the palaeontological debate over the origin of birds. The dinosaur skeleton had reportedly been discovered by Randy Sepulchrave of the Museum of the University of Southern North Dakota. The exciting part of the discovery, according to the article, was that "The researchers believe that the dinosaur, now named as Smaugia volans, could have flown." In actuality, the University of Southern North Dakota does not exist, though it has been made famous by Peter Schickele who refers to it as the location where the music of the obscure eighteenth-century composer PDQ Bach was first performed; Smaug was the name of the dragon in Tolkein's The Hobbit; and Sepulchrave was the name of the 76th Earl of Groan in Mervyn Peake's Titus Groan. This Earl, believing that he was an owl, leapt to his death from a high tower, discovering too late that he could not fly.

EXTERNAL LINKS
The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time
Fictitious Creatures of April Fool's Day

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April Fools Joke become Real Bigfoot Law

Yeti Hand Replica Delivered to Nepal

In our previous post New Search for Lost Yeti Artifacts of Nepal we mentioned how Kiwi adventurer and Air New Zealand pilot, Mike Allsop, plans on finding the Yeti skull and skeletal hand. These artifacts were stolen a monastery in the tiny Nepalese village of Pangboche, in the 1990s.

He has commissioned special effects shop Weta Workshops, a multi-award winning conceptual design and physical manufacturing facility known for their work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Narnia films, to create replicas of the skull cap and skeletal hand in order to replace what was stolen.

Ultimately Allsop is hoping someone will return the originals, "I am hoping that the person who has them wants to give them back."



We also mentioned Allsop will hand-deliver the replicas to the monastery when he and 17 Air NZ co-workers travel to Pangboche in April. Its April and the Dominion Post has an update on the story.

Pilot to return to Nepal with 'yeti hand'
STACEY WOOD

Yetis, monks, thieves and Jimmy Stewart. Mike Allsop's tale has all the makings of a Hollywood movie.

But there is nothing phony about his mission to help restore the pride of the 1000-year-old Pangboche monastery in Nepal, nestled high in the Himalayan foothills near Mt Everest base camp.

Mr Allsop, an Air New Zealand pilot, Everest climber and adventurer, will return to the monastery this month with a special gift from Sir Richard Taylor's Weta Workshop.

The replica hand is a copy of the monastery's "original" yeti hand, which was stolen by persons unknown in the 1990s.

The hand, and part of a skull that proved to be from a rare goat, provided the monastery's small source of income, from tourists who came to see the artefacts.

In the 1950s, explorer Peter Byrne and Hollywood actor Jimmy Stewart conspired to take one finger from the hand and have it tested in Britain, but the results were inconclusive, Mr Allsop said.

"There's two stories – one says Peter Byrne got the monks drunk and switched the finger. But I've spoken to him, and he says he offered to pay the monks and they agreed to let him take it."

Since the rest of the skeletal hand and the skull part were pinched in the 1990s, the monastery and its leader, Lama Gershe, have been without their main source of income. Mr Allsop hopes the replica items will help it survive until he can track down the originals.

He admits being sceptical about the existence of yetis, but said the legend was real enough to the monks.

"I asked Lama Gershe if he believed in it, and he started arguing with his wife in front of me. His daughter was translating for me and I asked her what they were fighting about.

"She told me he'd said his wife's friend was attacked at her back door by a yeti five years ago – and she'd said no, it was 10 years.

"And the sherpas, if they're around other people, they'll tell you they don't believe, but get them alone and they'll say: 'We don't have problems with yetis ... except in monsoon season."'

Mr Allsop has had a special connection with Pangboche since he first visited on his way to climb Everest in 2007. Lama Gershe helped to name his youngest son, Dylan Michael Dalha Allsop.

Last year when his eldest son, Ethan, turned seven he took him to see Everest and Pangboche, and plans to do the same with his younger children when they reach the same age.

He will leave for the monastery, with 15 Air New Zealand staff, on April 17 to install the replica artefacts in a secure glass case.

He hopes his campaign, Return The Hand, will locate the original bones, but time may be running out for Lama Gershe, who suffered a stroke last year.

THE MYTH OF THE YETI

The yeti, or abominable snowman, is one of the most famous mythological creatures. It is said to inhabit the mountainous areas of Nepal, Tibet and India.

Several explorers, including Peter Byrne, believe they have found tracks and dung belonging to yeti.

Sir Edmund Hillary, conqueror of Mt Everest, led an expedition in 1960 with a team of 21 scientists, climbers and other specialists, along with 310 Sherpas, to do scientific research on acclimatisation to altitude and to hunt for yetis. They failed to find any but brought back hair samples. Fellow Everest conqueror Tenzing Norgay told Sir Ed his father had twice seen a yeti.

Sir Ed's long-time friend, Tom Scott, said Sir Ed did not believe in the yeti but liked the concept. "The locals believed in them and Ed felt really bad for myth-busting them. He liked the possibility of the yeti. If someone found one, he would have been delighted."

- The Dominion Post

EXTERNAL LINKS
Kiwi adventurer leads Yeti hunt (12/05/2010)
Pilot to return to Nepal with 'yeti hand' (04/01/2011)

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New Search for Lost Yeti Artifacts of Nepal (12/05/2011)
Yeti Hairs DNA Test: Update (07/30/2008)

Stan Gordon Interviews Bigfoot Witness

Roger Marsh, paranormal news examiner, writes about a new Bigfoot case in Pennsylvania investigated by Stan Gordon. Stan Gordon has his fingers in a lot of unexplained phenomena including; UFO, Bigfoot, Thunderbirds, Black Panthers and other unexplained sightings within the Keystone State.

Below is just the excerpt that was written by Stan you can go to the Examiner to read Roger Marsh's whole take.

Is it a Bigfoot the witness saw? The story kinda loses us when it comes to the part that goes "The witness also saw what appeared to be wings on its back which were tucked into its body, with the wing tips extending toward the side of its head".

The witness did add the caveat, "appeared". read the article and judge for your self.

Roger Marsh
Paranormal News Examiner
A new Bigfoot case was made available March 29, 2011, after paranormal investigator and author Stan Gordon interviewed a witness from an incident that occurred in Butler County, Pennsylvania, March 18, 2011, between Chicora and East Brady...

...From researcher Stan Gordon - in his own words. On March 21, 2011, I was contacted by a witness who reported having an encounter with a very strange creature during the early morning hours of March 18, 2011. The incident occurred on a rural road in Butler County between Chicora and East Brady. The witness, a businessman passing through the area, stated that “this was the freakiest thing I ever saw, and it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.”




The man told me that he was driving down the road when from about a qurter-mile away, he observed something on the right side in a grassy area. His first thought was that it was a deer. The driver stepped on the gas to move closer to get a better view. From about 50 yards away, he observed something that appeared to be hunched down, and then stood up. The driver then observed a very tall muscular creature.

At this point, the driver had his high beams on and watched as the creature walked in front of a yellow reflective road sign, then crossed the two lane road in three long steps and continued into a wooded area. What he saw was a humanoid figure that stood at least 8 feet tall that appeared to have smooth leather-like skin that was of either a darker tan or light brown color.

The creature never looked at the witness, and was only observed from its side. The head appeared to be flat in the front section, and then rounded out. “At the top back of skull, it was like one of those aerodynamic helmets. The top was not quite a point, but looked like a ridge on top of the head.” The face was flat, and the eyes were not clearly defined, but the man thought that they might have been pointed in the corner. The ear that was observed on the left side was long and flat, and came up and back and was pointed backwards like a flap.

The arms were muscular and a little longer than that of a human. The hands looked more like a claw, but the number of fingers was unclear. One physical trait that stood out was the extremely muscular legs. The witness stated that it was hard to explain, but the legs did not move like that of a human, and “looked like they bent backwards.” The witness also saw what appeared to be wings on its back which were tucked into its body, with the wing tips extending toward the side of its head.

No unusual sounds or smells were noticed during the observation which was estimated to have been about 7-8 seconds. As the motorist approached the location where the creature entered the woods, it could no longer be seen. The next day the witness decided to drive back to the location of the encounter to look for any evidence. The ground conditions were not suitable for tracks, and nothing was found. The witness did, however, measure the road sign that the creature had walked in front of. The sign was just over 8 feet high, and the head of the creature was estimated to have reached about 4 inches above the sign.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Examiner Article: Mysterious tall creature reported In Pennsylvania
Stan Gordon's Website

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BC Columnist Remembers Sasquatch

Sasquatch leaves a lasting memory

By Chris Bush - Nanaimo News Bulletin
Published: March 28, 2011 11:00 AM
Updated: March 28, 2011 11:35 AM
One of my co-workers asked me, jokingly, if I saw any sasquatches on my recent holidays.

No, but ….

A few of us in the newsroom are mountain bikers and encounter the occasional deer and bear on our wilderness excursions.

They scurry off at the sight of creatures with shiny, coloured heads that ride on animals with round black hooves by grabbing their antlers and rapidly kicking the enslaved beasts.

When you ride by yourself and stop for a drink and a snack you sometimes get that eerie feeling someone or something is watching you.

I’ve never seen a sasquatch on the Island – I guess most other people haven’t either – but, a bunch of us kids were pretty sure that’s we saw one night at summer camp many years ago.

I was 11 in July 1969 when my mother sent me to Camp Jubilee, about halfway up Indian Arm east of Vancouver.

Camp activities involved a lot of swimming, hiking, archery and verbally and physically bullying each other to establish the pecking orders in our cabins.

One afternoon we hiked into the bush to camp overnight in a wide dry creek bed. As it got dark, kids hunkered down in the rocks for the night. I found a comfortable spot in the boulders.

Some boys caught little lizards that ran around in the rocks. Occasionally a kid would let out a yelp when his new pet bit him.

We were settling down when we heard something trucking through the woods, snapping branches as it went, seemingly unconcerned about the noise it made. A bear maybe?

The last of the twilight was fading, but the moon was full, so there was plenty of light to see by. What walked out of the woods was no bear.

It was about 12 metres from us, not just walking upright, but taking big easy strides across the rocks. About halfway across the creek bed it stopped, as if it realized suddenly that we were there, and turned to look at us.

It was nearly two metres tall and its body was proportioned just like a large man’s, except its forearms were a little longer than ours, so its hands hung closer to its knees.

Its body was covered in hair, but it was so fine, almost like an Irish setter’s, that you could see its muscle definition underneath. I remember his forearm muscles being clearly defined and, yup, “it” was definitely a “he”.

He just stood there and sort of regarded us for a moment as we gaped back in stunned silence. His face appeared human and was covered in an even finer layer of hair. His eyes were a medium shade and when I looked in them I remember thinking, “That’s a man.”

Then he turned and continued on his way. The sound of branches snapping started again when he entered the woods and eventually faded into the distance.

The encounter didn’t frighten me. I was simply amazed. Our silence broke when a few terrified kids started freaking out and crying.

We ran to our counsellors’ campsite in wooded area not far down the creek to tell them what happened. They were just teenagers themselves, and were sitting around a campfire talking and playing guitars. They just told us to get lost.

In the morning we found a narrow trail paralleling the creek bed and saw branches snapped off the trees about shoulder height of the creature. The counsellors found this a bit strange, but figured it must have been a bear.

I’ve seen films on TV and heard sensational stories about sasquatches over the years, but none of those have ever described anything like what we saw that night.

EXTERNAL LINKS
BCLOCALNEWS.COM

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Sylvanic DotCom Circa May 2005

Yes the site is down, I don't know what Todd's plans with it are currently. It's temporary, but I don't know how temporary. -- Louise Standing (3/28/2011)

We were able to get a response from Louise Standing, Todd's younger sister, she also wanted to make it clear, "...I have nothing to do with Todd's research and am really involved in no way!"

We promised we would have the first version of Sylvanic.Com. This was launched back in May 2005.

Click the above image to see full size.

Gauging from the home page, you would guess the site is less about Todd and more about a mysterious place where people end up missing. A place called Sylvanic.

THE NAVIGATION:

Home
The Legend
The Disappearance
Tears of the Mountain Story
The Expedition
Jay's Incident
Hair Found Follow-up
Conclusion
Letters From Readers
Sylvanic 1964 Chronicles
1984 Chronicles (added in December 2005)

OPENING PARAGRAPH:

It is hard to believe in this day an age that there are many places left in the vast mountain ranges of North America that are left untouched by man. But there is. The name may have changed in the last century but the legend remains the same. Sylavnic, as it is now called by the natives that have know of its legends thousands of years before civilization enveloped this continent, is a well hidden canyon nestled deep within the depths of the rocky mountains. This website explores the mysteries and folklore that surround this enigmatic rivers pass that leads to an ancient valley. A large unbroken chain of mountains encircles this valley and it is said that the sacred pass is guarded by the shadows of the mountain. A group of 4 people went into this valley on a February weekend in 2005 to document as much information about Sylanic as they could. What they found was shocking...

THE MISSING MAN:

"Do you recognize this man? He may have gone missing in Sylvanic in 1936 along with two of his associates. This is a police composite drawing of what he would have looked like in 1936. He had a strong English accent and would have worked for the railroad in the early 1930’s or late 1920’s. His initials may have been J.P.G."

Want to check out the evolution Sylvanic.Com all by your self? Check it out at the Internet Archives AKA the Wayback Machine

Its got a cool interface just click anywhere on the timeline. Below is an example of the interface, where you can actually navigate through the website via a timeline.

Click the above image to see full size.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Archived Version of Sylvanic.Com

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BLC's Coverage of Sylvanic.com

Todd Standing Jumps the Shark with Expedition 4

Photo "proof" of the Sylvanic Bigfoot provided by Todd Standing, below is an embedded video of which this still is from.

Jump The Shark (jŭmp thē shärk) idiom,
1.) A moment in the evolution of a television show, characterized by absurdity, when a particular show abandons its core premises and begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery.
2.)Used to describe the moment of downturn for a previously successful enterprise.

The phrase jump the shark comes from the climactic scene an episode opening the fifth season of the American TV series Happy Days in September 1977. In this story, the central characters visit Los Angeles, where a water-skiing Fonzie (Henry Winkler), wearing swimming trunks and his leather jacket, jumps over a confined shark, answering a challenge to demonstrate his bravery.

"It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it 'Jumping the Shark.' From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same." -- Jon Hein, creator of the now defunct website 'jumptheshark.com' which popularised the term.



We think the term is most apropos when it come to Sylvanic. As you can see from the 4th Sylvanic expedition below, Todd Standing creates a Blair Witch style video, where he is actually attacked by Sasquatch. According to the video, ultimately the "attack" causes his crew to call in a Search and Rescue team to, uh, search and rescue Todd Standing. Enjoy the video below we have no idea how long it will be up.




CHECK OUT ALL THINGS SYLVANIC AT BLC
BLC's Sylvanic Coverage

Todd Standing's Sylvanic Bigfoot Erased

First we like to thank fan, Tom Larson, for bringing this to our attention. Todd Standing has been erased from the internet. At least he has been erased from three major places.

1.) Sylvanic.com been down for weeks
2.) Sylvanic You Tube videos have been switched to private
3.) There is no trace of him at the Erickson Project's website www.sasquatchthequest.com

We tried to contact Todd's listed email as the administrative contact of Sylvanic.com for some answers and as of this morning we have still not heard back.

What we do know is the erasing of Sylvanic and Todd Standing has not been an accident, meaning the domain has not expired. Sylvanic.com does not expire until November 9th of this year. The site is down because Todd Standing wanted it down. The You Tube videos are unavailable because Todd made them to be unavailable.

Is Todd Standing and Sylvanic gone for good? This would be good news, as you know we have been awfully critical of the Sylvanic Bigfoot. We became increasingly concerned when we saw Todd Standing was somehow participating with the highly-regarded Erickson Project.

Photo "proof" of the Sylvanic Bigfoot provided by Todd Standing

The fact that any trace of Todd Standing has been removed from the Erickson Project bodes well for the credibility of the project. The fact that any trace of Todd and Sylvanic.com has been removed from the internet bodes well for the rest of us who take Bigfoot research seriously.

There is another explanation, Sylvanic.com may be going through a transformation and relaunch. This has happened before, when Todd has rebranded the Sylvanic website.

Stay tuned tomorrow when we provide you with screen shots and text of the Sylvanic Website on its first days back in April 6th 2005. As well as a journal he kept during the first few years of his project.

Until then, please view below the YouTube videos, Todd doesn't want you to see.

Stay tuned tomorrow where we share content from the Sylvanic.com's first year, circa 2005. This includes an online journal where Todd shoots back at his critics.



READ OUR PREVIOUS COVERAGE OF SYLVANINC ON ONE PAGE!
All things Sylvanic at BLC

READ COVERAGE FROM OTHERS
Cryptomundo
Ghost Theory

Brewers Ad Campaign: I Believe. Yeti

Disclaimer: Bigfoot Lunch Club does not endorse drinking before legal age.

Faithful fans you know we love Bigfoot art and nothing could be better than when its on the side of a giant truck.



This is the brainchild of Cultivator Advertising and Design. They are promoting 3 different beers for their client, Great Divide Brewing Company. These giant trucks are meant to publicize the craft brewer’s Yeti Imperial Stout, Oak Aged Yeti, Espresso Oak Aged Yeti and Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti. This message is on trucks that belong to third-party distributors in Colorado, California and North Carolina.




If you need further proof that Beer and and Bigfoot is a great pairing look at this Sasquatch circle of friends enjoying beers as recently as this week at a popular microbrew pub called McMenamins outside of Portland, Oregon. (We are very proud of this run-on sentence)

Left to Right: Craig Flipy, Cliff Barackman, Thom Powell, Guy Edwards

EXTERNAL LINKS
Beer trucks as an art form
Great Divide Brewing Co
Cultivator Advertising and Design
McMenamins Sunnyside

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Messin w/ Sasquatch
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Bigfoot film 'Night Claws' Begins Shooting

A Bigfoot creature is roaming the piney woods of south Mobile County, feasting on pretty blondes, brunettes and bad guys alike.

This is the basis of the latest low-budget action film to spring from the pen of David Prior. Prior, 54, a screenwriter, director and producer, made 18 movies the late 1980s and early 1990s, including “Mutant Species,” “Raw Justice,” “Night Trap,” “Raw Nerve” and “Invasion Force.”

It will be “gory, but not too gory,” he promised. “We have a great creature coming up. It’s a traditional rubber, foam and latex costume; no CGI. I didn’t want any CGI in the movie, although David wants some,” --Producer Fabio Soldani

Although this movie may not be as respectful to the Sasquatch as Christopher Munch's film Letters from the Big Man, it probably never intended to be.

Sly Stallone's brother, Frank Stallone is starring in it. Even though he's the most famous of the acting ensemble, its not surprising he doesn't get top billing. After all, he can't even get a descent role when his own brother writes, directs and produces a movie. He played "the singer" in the first three Rocky Movies.

You may remember Alissa Koenig from another David A Prior movie titled Zombie Wars.

Actor Ted Prior, who has starred in about half the movies his brother has made in south Alabama, plays Koenig’s husband, Charlie Parker, a tough East Coast type on a camping trip, led by seasoned survivalist Sharon Farmer (Tara Sanford Kleinpeter).

EXTERNAL LINKS
Coverage of Night Claws at Alabama Live
Night Claws Facebook Fan Page

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Charlotte, North Carolina Bigfoot Goes Viral

Bigfoot made it on Google's Top Ten search terms today. This has not happened since 2008 during the Geogia Bigfoot Hoax. What has everybody searching for Bigfoot on Google? Most likely the new North Carolina's Knobby video we reported yesterday.



It didn't hurt that MSNBC reported the Bigfoot story in its Tech and Science Section.

Not all are pleased with MSNBC's categorization of Bigfoot. Another NBC Affiliate in the Bay Area takes time to complain.

World's Worst Camera Captures Bigfoot
An incredibly fuzzy video of Bigfoot emerges. Fuzzy video? In 2011?
By SCOTT MCGREW
Updated 4:15 PM PDT, Thu, Mar 24, 2011 | Print

MSNBC is breathlessly reporting -- in its "science" section no less -- the emergence of a new Bigfoot video, shot by a fellow in North Carolina.

"Knobby," as the photographer nicknames him, walks across the road right in front of the camera. He contacted his local NBC TV station, "NewsChannel 36."

He also posted the video to YouTube, writing, "Carolyn stopped the truck and I jumped from the truck with a small video camera and started shooting a video of the Big Foot as it ran across the road in front of the truck."

What we wonder is how in 2011 someone, even someone in North Carolina, is using what appears to be a video camera designed by Galileo Galilei. The video is fuzzy and jerky and incredibly, saved as a .avi file. Even the camera on the iPad2 is better than that.

While the video is fuzzy, apparently Bigfoot's Knobby's smell is very distinct.
Says the man: "If you could have been there on that road and saw it live and smelled its horrid smell you would know that it had to be real. I know it brought cold chills to me when it looked just for a second at me and snarled or growled before it ran on up into the woods."

If our inbox is any indication most Bigfooters are not convinced either. However, if you find the search trends of Bigfoot interesting, than visit the links below under the heading YOU MAY ALSO LIKE. One of them has interactive doodads! Just like the one below.



EXTERNAL LINKS
MSNBC Coverage of the North Carolina Bigfoot Video
Bay Area NBC Affiliates full complaint
Even the Aussies are talking about it

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Interactive Bigfoot Search Index
Searching for Bigfoot Online
Google Bigfoot Trends

Siberia Govt Wants to Study Yeti; Academia says, "No"

Click to read our entire coverage of the Siberian Yeti.

Its official, Siberian Officials are getting push-back from academia in their pursuit to establish an institute to study yetis.

We have two great articles from two great sources.

First, from Singapore of all places:

Mar 23, 2011
Siberia plans 'institute to study yetis'
MOSCOW - OFFICIALS in a Siberian region on Wednesday announced plans to open a scientific institute for researchers to study yetis, despite opposition from academics.

'Organising an institute or a scientific centre would be a logical continuation of research into the yeti,' the administration of the Russian coal-mining region of Kemerovo in western Siberia said.

The region will announce its final decision after hosting an international conference on yetis later this year, the statement said, citing the regional government's education and science department. 'The town of Tashtagol will host an international conference with leading experts into hominids. Based on its results, we will take a decision on opening a scientific research institute to study the yeti.' Yetis, or Abominable Snowmen, are hairy ape-like creatures of popular myth, that are generally held to inhabit the Himalayas.

But some believe Russia also holds a population of yetis, which it calls Snow Men, in remote areas of Siberia such as the mountains in the southern part of Kemerovo around Tashtagol.

Kemerovo officials cited yeti researcher Igor Burtsev as saying that around 30 Russian scientists are studying yetis and could work together at the planned institute. 'We think that the yeti is a separate branch of human evolution. It lives in harmony with nature,' Mr Burtsev was quoted as saying.

Mr Burtsev earlier told the ITAR-TASS news agency that the institute was planned to open as part of the region's state university. The university swiftly denied the claim in a statement, saying that 'studying yetis is not among the research interests of the scientific teams at Kemerovo State University'. -- AFP

Second, from Wired Magazine:

Science May Start Tracking the Yeti
By Kevin Makice March 23, 2011 | 1:35 pm | Categories: Science and Education
As geeks, we are encouraged to suspend our disbelief while simultaneously challenging everything we see and hear. In the words of Agent Mulder, we want to believe, but our geek roots are firmly planted in the scientific method.

That tension is possibly being resolved on one front. The Russians are establishing a scientific institute on the study of yetis, hairy ape-like creatures rumored to inhabit the Himalayas.
Yes. Yetis.

Officials in coal-mining region of Kemerovo Oblast announced plans today to open a Yeti Institute at the Kemerovo State University, a 38-year-old higher education entity in western Siberia. KSU boasts 31,000 students and is best known for reviving regional languages, like Shor. Yeti researcher Igor Burtsev reportedly claimed that 30 Russian scientists are currently studying yetis, or Abominable Snowmen, and the Institute could allow them to better collaborate.

“We think that the yeti is a separate branch of human evolution. It lives in harmony with nature,” Burtsev was quoted as saying. Burtsev believes there may be a local community of these creatures that are Neandertals who survived extinction.

The Yeti Institute is not a lock, though. The university denied Burtsev’s claim that it would be part of KSU, saying that “studying yetis is not among the research interests of the scientific teams at Kemerovo State University.” A final decision will be made after the town of Tashtagol hosts an international conference on yetis later in 2011. Leading experts of hominids will discuss the idea of whether it is worthwhile to pursue the yeti with formal science.

The belief in a population of “Snow Men” in remote areas of Siberia is significant enough to celebrate Yeti Day on November 11. Cynics will note that it also marks the start of the ski season at nearby resort, Sheregesh. A 2009 photo revived local tourism and led to tours at the “Yeti’s Cave” where a large footprint was found. I don’t think it helps that this was first reported in the Daily Mail, a UK publication with a tendency toward sensational stories.

Still …

EXTERNAL LINKS
Singapores Strait Times Article
Wired Magazine's Take

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Siberia to celebrate Yeti Day November 11
Igor Burtsev to head another Bigfoot Expedition in Siberia
Russian yetis start a war with bears

We should add, for the record, Igor Burtsev said he was misquoted regarding the wars with bears.

NC's Knobby Bigfoot Returns?

Thomas Byers snapped this photo of "Bigfoot" along Golden Valley Church Road in Rutherford County on March 22, 2011.

North Carolina's most famous Bigfoot sighting was back in in the winter of 1979. According to the Gastona Gazette, a nickname was assigned to the sightings, Knobby, based on the multiple sightings around the Carpenter’s Knob area.

North Carolina is a recent hot spot of sorts and as we have reported before, is where Animal Planet kicked off its, yet-unnamed, new Bigfoot TV Series. It is also famous for Mike Greene's Squeaky Thermal Video.

WNCN is reporting a new sighting of "Knobby" based on a 5 sec video sent to them.

Posted on March 23, 2011 at 11:05 AM
Updated today at 11:10 AM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Shelby man says he has captured video of Bigfoot.

Thomas Byers e-mailed NewsChannel 36, saying he saw Bigfoot walk across Golden Valley Church Road in Rutherford County Tuesday evening.

Byers' says he was about 15 to 20 feet away from the creature when he captured a five-second video.

"It ran across the road and into the woods right in front of us and I was able to film it," Byers wrote. "In the short video you can hear it snarl or growl at me." -- by NewsChannel 36 Staff at wcnc.com

Byers goes into greater detail of the encounter, here is an excerpts below:

As I filmed it crossing the road it turned its head towards me and snarled or growled at me as it ran across the road. It was truly one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. It was at one point only 15-20 foot from me and it happened so fast and shook me up so bad that I really didn't understand what I had seen until it was up the side of the mountain and out of sight. You can watch the video below of what I saw and you can hear its snarl or growl on the video as it crosses the road in front of the truck I and Carolyn were riding in.

One thing I know is the smell of it was horrid. It smelled like a cross between road kill and a skunk. And it did not like the fact that I was there on the road with it. In the video you can hear it snarl or growl at me as it crosses the road. -- Thomas Byers

The embedded videos below show the 5 secs of Knobby and then Byers vocal reaction to the event.

Here is the first video I shot of Big Foot or Knobby crossing the road on the evening of March 22 , 2011. Listen and you can hear it growl or snarl at me as it


In Video 2 I took I was in the edge of the woods and you can hear me and Carolyn talking about what we just saw.


EXTERNAL LINKS
Read about the Original 1979 Knobby
Read the WCNC.COM Artickle
Read the Story from the witness himself

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N.C. Man (Mike Greene) Lures Bigfoot with Candy
Animal Planet is Filming in North Carolina

Kathy Moskowitz Strain Talks Bigfoot Pictographs

There is a rockshelter, at Painted rock that has painted pictographs on the walls. The pictographs include paintings of a male, female, and child Bigfoot (known as the family). Nobody knows more about the history and legend behind these pictographs than Kathy Moskowitz Strain. If you live near Porterville California you are in for a treat. Kathy will share her research regarding the creation myth involving the hairy creatures painted on these walls.

Was Big Foot at the Reservation?
Special presentation Friday at PC
March 22, 2011 11:17 AM
THE RECORDER
A special presentation “Bigfoot and Native Culture: with Kathy Strain, Heritage Resource & Tribal Relations Programs manager for the Stanislaus National Forest” will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday in the Porterville College Theater at Porterville College, 100 E. College Avenue.
Sponsored and hosted by the Cultural Historical Awareness Program (CHAP) at Porterville College, the program is free and open to the public.

...There are no other known creation stories involving a Bigfoot-like creature in California, and as far as can be determined, there are no Bigfoot creation stories anywhere else in the west. There is also no evidence of any other Bigfoot pictographs...

Strain, who attended Porterville College in the late 1980s, became interested in the art and oral traditions of the local Native Americans while growing up in Porterville, especially as they pertain to the “Hairy Man” or “Bigfoot” images found on the Tule River Reservation and around Painted Rock.

“As a trained archaeologist, she has expanded her initial interests to include Native stories, dances, and artwork from throughout North America, hoping that they may shed some light on the controversy surrounding the existence or nonexistence of some type of creature who roams remote regions of our continent,” said Will Lloyd, Porterville College Public Information Officer.

Painted Rock

Painted Rock is located on the Tule River Indian Reservation above Porterville. The site, also known as CA-TUL-19, is a rock shelter associated with a Native American Yokuts village and is located immediately adjacent to the Tule River. It includes bedrock mortars, pitted boulders, midden and pictographs which are located within the rock shelter and are painted on the ceiling and walls of the shelter.

“It’s really interesting,” Lloyd said. “It’s a whole ‘Big Foot’ family.”

The pictographs include paintings of a male, female, and child Bigfoot, coyote, beaver, bear, frog, caterpillar, centipede, humans, eagle, condor, lizard and various lines, circles, and other geometric designs — all done in red, black, white and yellow.





This rock art site is unique; not only because it contains a Bigfoot pictograph, but also because of the traditional Native American stories that accompany it. There are no other known creation stories involving a Bigfoot-like creature in California, and as far as can be determined, there are no Bigfoot creation stories anywhere else in the west. There is also no evidence of any other Bigfoot pictographs. Most states, including California, keep a database of all recorded sites located on federal, state, county, city, or private land. Based on that information, there is no other known Bigfoot pictographs or petroglyphs anywhere in California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada or Idaho.

The most dominant pictograph at Painted Rock is that of the ‘Hairy Man,’ also known as Mayak datat.

Though the picture measures 2.6 meters high by 1.9 meters wide, it represents an 8.5-foot high, two-legged creature, with its arms spread out to six feet wide. It also has what appears to be long hair and large haunting eyes, which the Yokuts identify the lines coming from the eyes as tears. The pictograph is in very poor condition due to weathering and vandalism. A Hairy Man petroglyph is present at the site as well. Petroglyphs are very rare in the Sierras, reported Lloyd.

In 2003 Kathy presented at the International Bigfoot Symposium, it was titled "An Archaeological Viewpoint of the Hairy Man Pictographs." Thankfully the folks at the Bigfoot Information Project have the written version of the presentation. Please read Kathy's amazing report.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Recorder Online Announcement of Kathy's Presentation
Kathy's Report: An Archaeological Viewpoint of the Hairy Man Pictographs

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Kathy at The Oregon Sasquatch Symposium 2010

Weekend with Cliff Barackman Video

Last year Cliff Barackman went on a Labor Day Bigfooting It was a weekend to remember.

Suddenly, this camping trip had turned into a bigfooting trip. Thank goodness. It felt so awkward! We headed out to Mt. Hood National Forest to see if we could drum up some bigfooty action. -- Cliff Barackman

Fortunately, Craig Flipy video-taped the whole adventure. You may remember Craig and Cliff were both in a an episode of Bob Saget's show, Strange Days.

The embedded video below has some great bigfooting gems provided by Cliff Barackman.



EXTERNAL LINKS
Cliff Barackman's Blog
Craig's You Tube Channel
Craig Flipy's Crappy Little Dreams

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Bob Saget's "Strange Days" Looks for Bigfoot
Bigfoot Fans, Now for Something Completely Different

Author Thom Powell's New Book, Shady Neighbors, is Available!

It's official! You can now purchase  author, Thom Powell's newest book, Shady Neighbors.

For those few of you who do not know. Author Thom Powell is the acclaimed author of The Locals. The Locals was a ground-breaking anthology of several Bigfoot reports. Single-handedly, Powell breathed new life into Bigfoot research, promising and delivering a new perspective on the Sasquatch phenomena.

He does it again in Shady Neighbors.

On his blog, ThomSquatch, author, Thom Powell, says Shady Neighbors was a three-year process but you can read the cumulative decades of research that went into his newest book. After reading our advanced copy we can assure you he achieved his goal.

"I tried to craft a plot that is amusing as well as original, while also writng something that appeals to all the friends I have met (and those I have not yet met) who share my interest in the bigfoot phenomenon. I tried to do the same thing in Shady Neighbors that Christopher Munch did in his recent movie Letters from the Big Man: present a side of the sasquatch phenomenon that is honest and original; one that the bigfoot creatures themselves might appreciate and enjoy if they read books." -- author, Thom Powell

As a piece of brilliant fiction, it stands alone. If you love learning what decades of Bigfoot research tells us about the creature? Shady Neighbors delivers.

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Read the history of the Shady Neighbors book cover.

Semantics of Monkey Alarm Calls

We are gonna start using Mondays for sharing breakthroughs in the primate world (at least the ones we think relate to Bigfooting). While we know there is a debate about whether Bigfoot is a man/animal/primate, and strong arguments for each theory, we think our best model for Bigfoot are other primates.

So what's new in the world of primatology? The semantics of alarm calls. This ties in great with most of the recorded Sasquatch vocalizations we have. This excludes the Sierra Sounds. We covered the potential Sasquatch language discovered in the Sierra Sounds in another post last year. Our feeling is the Sierra Sounds are from acclimated Sasquatch, due to the fact that they were recorded in the same location over a long period of time. After all, it takes a while for a primates, and even humans, to get comfortable enough to converse around "strangers". Alarm calls are different, and the majority of recorded vocalizations are, most likely, alarm calls.



How else can I tell I'm hearing alarm calls?

According to Primatology.net: "Alarm calls are typically high frequency sounds because these calls are hard to localized by predators. On the other hand, low frequency sounds are easier to localized by predators.

What is even more interesting, these alarm calls may be innate, meaning they are coded within the DNA of the species. In studying, "Monkey Responses to Three Different Alarm Calls: Evidence of Predator Classification and Semantic Communication," three groups of Vervet Monkeys were identified as making similar calls for similar predator warnings:

We refer to these three calls as leopard, eagle, and snake alarms. Leopard alarms were short tonal calls, typically produced in a series on both exhalation and inhalation. Eagle alarms were low-pitched, staccato grunts, and snake alarms were high-pitched "chutters."

The study continued to explain how each type of call elicited a different physical response:

When monkeys were on the ground, leopard alarms caused them to run up into trees, where they appeared to be safest from the ambush style of attack typical of leopards. Eagle alarms caused them to look up, run into dense bush, or both, apparently to avoid an eagle's stoop. And snake alarms caused them to look down at the ground around them. Such responses suggested that each alarm call effectively represented, or signified, a different class of external danger.

Vervet are not the only monkeys with these same alarm call traits. If alarm calls were exclusive to vervet monkeys, than it wouldn't have a high value to Bigfooting. Other Monkeys include white-faced capuchins, campbell's monkeys, diana monkeys and more.

While we need a lot more evidence to determine if any of this is helpful to Bigfooting, we feel primatology has come a long way since wood-knocking and it wouldn't hurt to begin to incorporate some of the other traits shared by multiple species of primates.

Your thoughts?

EXTERNAL LINKS
The Semantics of Vervet Monkey Alarm Calls: Part I
Alarm calls of white-faced capuchin monkeys: an acoustic analysis
Monkey Responses to Alarm Calls

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Sasquatch Phonetic Alphabet Documents

OTHER MONKEY STUFF WE POSTED
What Color is Bigfoot's World?
Bigfoot Knows what your thinking--or feeling.

ACLU Defends Bigfoot

Over a year ago we covered a story, Bigfoot Prankster Claims Violation of Free Speech. Well, it seems the American Civil Liberties Union agrees with the prankster's claim and has officially decided to defend his rights. The ACLU describes themselves as, "our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country."

These liberties include filming a video while dressed up like Bigfoot in a state park.

True. True. If this guy was dressed like a giant rabbit we would not cover it, but then, we would hope FuzzyBunnyLunchClub would have.

This associated press story was picked up by Yahoo, ABC, and NPR. Oh and of course by us.

By LYNNE TUOHY, Associated Press – Tue Mar 8, 6:31 pm ET
CONCORD, N.H. – First there was a Bigfoot sighting. Now, there's a Bigfoot suing.

A performance artist and amateur filmmaker who dressed as the mythical beast says New Hampshire park rangers didn't have the right to kick him off a mountain where he had been scaring, or at least amusing, hikers while friends videotaped his antics.

Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Jonathan Doyle is suing the state, arguing that the requirement to pay $100 for a special use permit 30 days in advance and get a $2 million insurance bond violates his free speech rights.

"The underlying activities are humorous, but the principle's important," said Jon Meyer, a lawyer representing Doyle. "We're talking about a very small-scale activity in a very large place. We don't believe there's any legitimate government role in regulation."

Doyle's attorneys say no one complained to the state park service after Doyle first dressed as Bigfoot, ran around the rocky top of Mount Monadnock, returned to human form and interviewed bystanders about what they saw Sept. 6, 2009.

"People loved it. It was socially engaging," Doyle, 30, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "When I showed up at the top of the mountain dressed as Bigfoot and beating my chest, everyone just laughed and hoorayed."

Hikers describing their encounters in a video Doyle posted on YouTube seemed happy to get in on the fun and inflate the legend.

"At first I thought it was just a man in a suit making some sort of documentary, but then I saw it devour this man's friend and a small child," one man said at the top of the popular hiking spot as others behind him relaxed, admired the view and drank water. "I still see blood on the rocks."

A boy who looked to be about 10 said he even took a photo of the legendary monster, which is more strongly associated with the Pacific Northwest than New Hampshire. "Yeah. I'm gonna put it on eBay, sell it for like $50," he said.

When Doyle let it get out that he planned to return Sept. 19 to film a sequel, Monadnock park manager Patrick Hummel noticed. The subject line in an e-mail he wrote to his supervisor: "Bigfoot problem on Monadnock...not kidding."

Hummel said in the e-mail he planned to intercept Doyle and added, "If you want to waste 5 minutes of your time, he's on YouTube."

So when Doyle returned with a small band of costumed friends to film "The Capture of Bigfoot," they were captured themselves, sort of. Hummel interrupted the skit and barred them from filming, saying Doyle needed a permit.

"Here I am in a Bigfoot outfit, and he's an authority figure and he's got a job to do," Doyle said, during a telephone interview from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he is waiting tables to support his artwork.

The interrupted skit — of Bigfoot sneaking up on a friend of Doyle's — had about 2,200 hits on YouTube as of Tuesday, while his Sept. 6 video had about 2,300.
Doyle said he thinks officials found his Bigfoot stunt — and the publicity it generated — tacky for a mountain revered by literary giants Henry Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Monadnock is a scenic mountain with views of four states from its 3,165-foot-tall summit. Emerson and Thoreau both hiked it and wrote about it. New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union attorney Barbara Keshen said in her brief that it is said to be among the most-climbed mountains in the world.

A lawyer who was among the friends with him when Hummel stopped the filming forwarded details of the case to the ACLU.

"Jonathan Doyle started this thing with nothing but good humor and intentions," Keshen said. "But it does have serious overtones."
Keshen and the state both filed motions Tuesday seeking favorable verdicts. Doyle is seeking attorneys' fees, nominal damages and to be allowed to videotape on Monadnock without having to get a permit.

Both sides agree there's no need for a trial because no facts are in dispute. What they dispute is whether the administrative rule requiring permits, as it was applied to Doyle, violates his First Amendment rights to free speech and expression.

New Hampshire's department of resources and economic development, which oversees the park system, referred all questions to the attorney general's office because the case is in litigation.

Assistant Attorney General Matt Mavrogeorge said the rule is constitutional.
Doyle, who grew up in Keene and has attended several art schools but has yet to graduate, has done other stunts to elicit reactions. He created and drove a "Bat-Mobile" around Manhattan. He dressed as an angel and stood stock still in the main aisle of an Episcopal church. He also said he designs websites and murals and loves to paint.

"I don't want to be locked in a Bigfoot suit forever," Doyle said. "I'd like to be able to do more."

Bigfoot is the nickname given to sightings of large, hairy, human-like creatures that have been reported across the United States. Scientists are skeptical, at best, about its existence.

Below is the video that started this all

EXTERNAL LINKS
BBC coverage, see what the Brits think

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Bigfoot Prankster Claims Violation of Free Speech

UPDATE: Rick Lunsford's Expedition in Wilkes County

In a previous post about Rick Lunsford of Cricket, North Carolina we quoted his description of his Sasquatch encounter 32 years ago (see Bigfoot Search Is On In Wilkes County).

"I seen it's eyes first. Then I seen it's oval shaped head. Then I seen the hair hanging off of him about 4 or 5 inches. I seen his left arm bowed out beside of him. I could see every finger and thumb," said Lunsford. "I never did see it no more and I never did go back looking for it."

In an article at Winston Salem Journal (below), there is talk of Lunsford asking for some help to find another Sasquatch in the same area, in the hopes of having another encounter.

'The missing link is out here'
More than 30 people show up in Wilkes County to try to find Bigfoot


By ANNETTE FULLER
Published: March 06, 2011

MILLERS CREEK --
Rick Lunsford didn't want to take his vision of Bigfoot to the grave without sharing it, and that's why he arranged an outing in Wilkes County Saturday to try to find the big guy.

"I had a serious gallbladder infection a year ago, and the doctor gave me three to five days to live," said Lunsford, 52. He had an operation and recuperated, but the near-death experience convinced him that he had to come out with it — that he had seen Bigfoot in rural Wilkes County when he was 20.

"I've got five grandyoung'uns, and I wanted them to know about Bigfoot before I go. The missing link is out here in these hills," Lunsford said Saturday afternoon, surrounded by about 30 other Bigfoot adventurers who came out on a gray, rainy day to seek the creature.

Lunsford described Bigfoot as between 6 and 8 feet tall, as broad as a refrigerator, with an oval head and dark eyes, and a hand similar to a human's, with a thumb and four fingers.

The group met at the Millers Creek Food Lion parking lot at noon Saturday, in a drizzling rain.

"I honestly don't believe, but I could always be made a believer," said Matthew Billings of Hayes, a turkey hunter.

Bobby Lee of North Wilkesboro said if Bigfoot is out there, "he's smart, because he's avoiding bear traps that can easily take a man's leg off."

Logan Baker of Hayes said he wanted to come see what all the fuss was about. "We'd like to believe it; we'd like to find proof," said Baker, who is a deer hunter.

Gary Pilkenton of Millers Creek said he is 75 percent sure that Bigfoot exists. "I believe that all these witnesses who have seen him, all these years, can't be lying. They come up with the same descriptions, by and large."

Bigfoot is a species of animal that hasn't yet been recognized officially, Pilkenton said.

"He's a mammal, a primate of some kind."

The group would look for footprints or broken limbs — anything that would show that a big creature had been there.

About 12:30, the group got into their vehicles, and a caravan of trucks and cars headed toward the Roten Creek area, about 12 miles away. Vehicles slowly drove on a winding, misty mountainous road beside a wide creek, past Christmas tree farms, wood and brick bungalow houses, cows and churches, including Poplar Cove Baptist and New Light Baptist. The Blue Ridge Holiness Campground had a sign that read, "Jesus is coming soon! Wake up America!"

As the vehicles were parking near the site, a driving rain began. When a couple of the all-terrain vehicles began spinning their wheels, trying to make it up a steep muddy hill to get to the site, Lunsford called off the hunt.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt," he said, adding that he would reschedule for a day with better weather and no rain.

Hobert Hart, who lived nearby, came outside to find out what all the hubbub was about. When told that people were trying to find Bigfoot, he said he has lived in the area since 1949 and had never seen it.

"The biggest thing I have ever seen was a bear," Hart said, adding that he did not believe in Bigfoot.

"Maybe these people are getting a bit of exercise, but that's about all they're getting," he said.

Brad Boyer of Mooresville and his two sons Robbie and Ryan came to the hills of Millers Creek wearing T-shirts that said, "Bigfoot stepped on me in Willow Creek, California."

"Bigfoot is a cottage industry in Willow Creek," he said, adding he couldn't pass up the chance to go on an expedition so close to home.

"All the Bigfoot folklore, TV programs and websites out there influence people, and leads them to put things together in their minds," Boyer said. "I don't believe in it personally, but I don't believe these people are lying."

Lunsford said that when people tell him what he saw was probably a bear, he answers that "a bear has a neck, and this thing I saw, his head rested right on his shoulders."

Lunsford said after he saw Bigfoot, he didn't tell many people, only his wife. He said he waited 20 years to tell his mother, so as not to upset her.

After various media reported on the upcoming expedition, Lunsford said he was teased in the chat rooms of gowilkes.com, a popular website for Wilkes County residents.

One person wrote that Lunsford was trying to find the tooth fairy, and another one wrote: "Dear Ricky: Leave him alone, you dummy!"

"People can believe whatever they want to believe," he said, adding that he was pleased with the turnout, especially given the rain. "This was worth it all, and these people showing up means a lot. Now, people know that Bigfoot was here."

Those who would like to go on the next hunt can call Lunsford at (336) 667-4730.

You can watch two earlier videos attached to this story below.


Wilkes County Man Searching For Bigfoot - Rick Lunsford is on the search for Bigfoot 32 years after he claims he first saw him.


Why Are They Searching For Bigfoot - 6pWhat is up with the fascination of hunting for Bigfoot