Dr. Bryan Sykes Responds to Moneymakers' Criticisms of Bigfoot DNA Study

Dr. Bryan Sykes

"I really don't know whether any of the samples arrived thanks to the BFRO or not." --Dr. Bryan Sykes

In a previous post we shared some reporting from Black Bag's Matthew Phelan regarding criticism by Matt Moneymaker. Matt Moneymaker was quoted as saying the Sykes bigfoot DNA study was meaningless scientifically.

Since our post, Matt Moneymaker Calls Sykes' Bigfoot DNA Study "Meaningless", Matthew Phelan was able to get a response to Matt Moneymakers comments from Dr. Bryan Sykes. 

Here is the correspondence between Black Bag and Sykes:

Black Bag: This is to Moneymaker, specifically, but Sykes may know something too: Moneymaker says that the "BFRO did not provide any of the North American samples, nor did we endorse those few samples from North America that were focused on in the associated TV program." UK Channel 4's Bigfoot Files, presumably. Is this, in fact, correct? Further, to Moneymaker, why did the BFRO not submit samples?

Sykes: I really don't know whether any of the samples arrived thanks to the BFRO or not. They were all submitted by individuals and not by organisations.

Black Bag: Moneymaker asserts that a substantial portion of the submitted samples were excluded "because there was a relatively small amount of material in the sample (i.e. only a few hairs in the sample ... like MOST authentic bigfoot hair samples)." Dr. Sykes, can you speak to the veracity of this and —- overall —- explain in more detail the rubric by which those 18 samples were excluded?

Sykes: Not so. Many samples consisted of only very few, sometimes a single, hair. I had a slight preference for samples with two or more hairs simply because if I had found any to be from an "anomalous primate" I would have had an independent lab test them before publishing the results. That turned out not be necessary. All told I was sent 95 hair samples of which I sent 37 (now 38) for analysis of which 30 (now 31) yielded DNA.

Check out what else Dr. Bryan Sykes has to say about funding bigfoot research and the three questions we should ask when pursuing Bigfoot in the Black Bag

Matt Moneymaker Calls Sykes' Bigfoot DNA Study "Meaningless"

Matt Moneymaker Called Sykes Bigfoot DNA Study, "Meaningless scientifically"

"because there was a relatively small amount of material in the sample (i.e. only a few hairs in the sample ... like MOST authentic bigfoot hair samples)." --Matt Money maker on why some submitted samples were not even anlyzed

Gawker.com was able to get an official response from Discovery News regarding the recent results of Dr. Bryan Sykes DNA study. Even better? They got a response from BFRO founder and Finding Bigfoot co-host Matt Moneymaker. In a few short words Matt Moneymaker claims the study "meaningless scientifically."

Read the full response why below:

The actual DNA analysis by Sykes' team was surely performed with the highest integrity and accuracy but the overall effort was already corrupted by that point. It was corrupted at the sample inclusion stage.

Note: The BFRO did not provide any of the North American samples, nor did we endorse those few samples from North America that were focused on in the associated TV program. None of the "bigfoot" samples that came from the US had a strong *credible* connection to a bigfoot sighting or some other credible corroborating evidence (i.e. footprints).

To be fair Dr. Bryan Sykes has not ruled out the possibility of a Yeti or Sasquatch being out there. He has said so in his response.

"While it is important to bear in mind that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence and this survey cannot refute the existence of anomalous primates, neither has it found any evidence in support. Rather than persisting in the view that they have been 'rejected by science', advocates in the cryptozoology community have more work to do in order to produce convincing evidence for anomalous primates and now have the means to do so."

Click the following link to read the entire Gawker article titled, "Bigfoot Field Research Organization Head Calls DNA Study 'Meaningless'"

Boy Scouts are Now Officially Messin' with Sasquasatch

Jack Links Beef Jerky Joins Boy Scouts as Official Protien 

“From their high-quality products that are perfect for those who are out enjoying the Scouting experience to their expertise with fundraising programs, Jack Link’s and the Boy Scouts of America are a good fit...”--John Stewart, the BSA’s director of corporate engagement. 


The alternate title to this post was, "Sasquatch is the official protein for Boy Scouts,"  but discretion got the better of me. In the new video promoting Jack Link's as the official protein of the Boy Scouts. Our familiar friend makes a cameo at the very end, looking more like a sports team's mascot, versus the terrifyingly funny Sasquatch we are used to in the Messin' with Sasquatch campaigns we are used to. I guess the Boy Scouts needed a warmer cuddlier version, which I'm fine with. The design is great and still resembles the Jack Link's Sasquatch we love.

Watch the videos followed by the official Boy Scouts of America press release below.








FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Boy Scouts of America and Jack Link’s® have teamed up on a multiyear partnership that will make Jack Link’s “The Official Protein Snack of the Boy Scouts of America” and the organization’s four national high-adventure bases.

The agreement will put many of Jack Link’s popular beef, pork, and turkey jerky products onto the shelves of BSA retail facilities and into the hands of the thousands of youth and adult members who sign up each year for adrenaline-pumping adventures at its national high-adventure bases in Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, and West Virginia.

On the local level, where BSA councils manage their own fundraising campaigns and host more than a million boys and girls at long-term Scout camps around the country each year, Jack Link’s will be designated as a Preferred Service Provider.

“From their high-quality products that are perfect for those who are out enjoying the Scouting experience to their expertise with fundraising programs, Jack Link’s and the Boy Scouts of America are a good fit,” said John Stewart, the BSA’s director of corporate engagement. “We are constantly looking for ways to create authentic, relevant opportunities for brands to speak to America’s youth, families, and communities. This is a great representation of that effort.”

To help spread awareness of the partnership, the two organizations have already produced several “Scoutin’ With Sasquatch” videos—inspired by Jack Link’s iconic “Messin’ With Sasquatch” advertising campaign—that show the mythical creature enjoying a number of Scouting activities such as hiking, camping, and even zip-lining.

About the Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of 2.6 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21 and more than a million volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.

About JACK LINK’S BEEF JERKY – Feed Your Wild Side™

Headquartered in Minong, Wisconsin, Jack Link’s is the leader in the meat snack category and the fastest-growing meat snack manufacturer worldwide. The Jack Link’s brand represents a heritage of quality and consumer trust. Well known for its iconic Messin’ With Sasquatch™ advertising campaign, Jack Link’s offers more than 100 premium meat snack products at retail outlets in more than 40 countries. Check out JackLinks.com for more information on the brand.

Cliff Barackman Gets Nailed

Headline and pic of Cliff  Barackman NAILED article

"Cliff is pointedly generous with his expertise, and believes with fervent and infectious certainty that “Bigfoots” are roaming the backwoods of the U.S. while remaining cleverly–and even playfully–out of sight." --Nailed Magazine

Nailed Magazine is self-described as "arts and culture magazine that features candid writing, essays, art, poetry, fiction, comics, interviews, letters, photography, and more. NAILED was founded on five defining adjectives that we constantly strive to reflect in the content that we publish: artful, passionate, raw/honest, challenging, and intelligent."

A quick browse through a sample of articles confirms they uphold the five defining adjectives in all that they do. The article on Cliff Barackman from Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot is no exception.

The article begins as it should, introducing the readers to Cliff Barackman and then there is a point where Cliff introduces the author to the best physical evidence we have. Bigfoot prints in the form of cast. A light bulb moment happens and the author writes about the revelation.

"Before we left for a drive, Cliff showed me casts from between the late 1960s and early 1980s, collected from separate locations, that appear to be of the same feet, including identifying scars and toe-spacing. My belief is that these were either the result of the most elaborate, long-running hoax in history, which would likely require a silicon-type replica complete with working robotic toes and massive weight behind it for the deep impressions, or else they were authentic. As curious as I am in the possibility of the existence of Sasquatch, I have always tried to approach the unknown with skepticism; however, I personally couldn’t conceive of any other explanation than that somehow, something akin to Bigfoot does indeed exist. I decided in those moments to view the casts not as anecdotal conversation pieces, but as evidence."

Cliff shares more than footprints, but also handprints. and the Author becomes even more intrigued,

 "I examined a knuckle imprint cast taken on June 1982 near Walla Walla, Washington, which includes a clear thumbnail impression. On his North American Bigfoot blog, Cliff explains, “The positioning of this thumbnail gives some insight into the thumb of a Sasquatch. It seems that the thumb is rotated outwards towards the other fingers. This makes the thumb close inwards towards the palm, like the other digits. This has been noted in eyewitness accounts. The thumbs are described as curling around objects in the same direction as the other fingers.” Generally speaking, on certain levels this comports biologically with the anatomy of some apes, yet remains uniquely Sasquatchian. I found myself in genuine awe of the evidence gathered before me, and how consistent and insightful a picture they painted of a mystery unraveling."

Joseph Blair writes with an open mind with  healthy skepticism.You will definitely want to read the rest of the article as they go out to the woods together. Read the whole adventure between Cliff Barackman and Joseph Blair in the Nailed Magazine article titled, "CASTING TRACKS: CLIFF BARACKMAN AND SASQUATCH CULTURE"

TRUE STORY: Utah Govt Provides Almost $100k for "Bigfoot vs. Nazis" Movie

As if Bigfoot and Nazis aren't enough Einstein and Dr. Frankenstein also makes an appearance

"The one and only 'Bigfoot versus Nazis' will be filmed in Utah this November — with state financial assistance." --Salt Lake Tribune

Normally I like to provide some type of editorial from the angle, "what does this mean?" Not a chance on this one. What does it mean when an entire state decides to provide almost $100,000 in incentives to help finance a movie titled, "Bigfoot Vs. Nazis"?

Well Utah has it's reasons. Read below and then check out some cool preview photos from the movie production.

Maybe its plot is a bit far-fetched, acknowledged Utah Film Commission Director Marshall Moore in a presentation Thursday to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development board. Especially the parts where Einstein and Frankenstein get involved in the fight between monsters mythical and real.

 But, he added, the Camera 40 Productions team making the fantasy adventure feature film will spend almost $500,000 in the state, shooting for most of November with a cast of 18, plus 25 crew members and 200 extras.

For that reason, GOED’s board unanimously approved a post-performance tax credit for Camera 40 of up to $98,406, 20 percent of the amount the production team expects to leave in the state.

"Bigfoot versus Nazis" was one of eight film projects that received incentives from GOED. The offers are based on the production companies spending defined amounts of money in the state and, quite often, hiring at least 85 percent of the cast and crew locally.

The tax credit increases from 20 to 25 percent when spending tops $1 million, Moore noted. But it can be cut back if a production falls short of meeting its spending goal.

SRC: Salt Lake Tribune, State putting money into ‘Bigfoot versus Nazis’

Here are some photos that were available on the official BvsN Facebook Page

Concept art providing a pre visualation of a key scene from "Bigfoot vs. Nazis

Actual screen shot with an Über Nazi and his radioactive weapon

A closer look at another Über Nazi.

 

A sneak peak at the Bigfoot design from Bigfoot vs Nazis

Official Bigfoot vs. Nazi Poster

Kirk Sigurdson: The Relationship Between Kong, Bigfoot and Trolls

Scene from Peter Jackson's King Kong

"Legends of sasquatches abducting female humans were quite common in Native American lore. Of course, both trolls and King Kong follow suit in this regard, kidnapping females." -- Kirk Sigurdson
There is no other personality in the Bigfoot community that has explored the psychological impact of the Bigfoot mystery more deeply than novelist Kirk Sigurdson. In fact, his novel, Kultus, is at the surface a riveting page-turner that is hard to put down, but upon deeper reflection it exposes and reminds us how a single phenomena (the Bigfoot mystery) can be many things to many people.

Recently, on his blog KultusBook.com, Kirk reminds us of how the Bigfoot phenomena continues to shape and reveal itself through pop-culture. To get more of Kirk's insights regarding King Kong, Bigfoots and Trolls read, King Kong: Modernist Representation of the Bigfoot/Troll Mythos.

Today in Bigfoot History | JUL 09, 2000 | Married Couple Chased by Bigfoot

Bigfoot chasing a couple

"My wife and I were chased out of the woods by what I am sure was a Bigfoot in the Lake George/Buck Mountain region of the Adirondacks, New York in Warren County."

 Source: Bobbie Short, http://www.bigfootencounters.com/
A couple were chased away from their resting place by what seemed to be a Bigfoot.

Warren County, New York State
Lake George - Buck Mountain region Adirondacks

Around July 9th, 2000 — My wife and I were chased out of the woods by what I am sure was a Bigfoot in the Lake George/Buck Mountain region of the Adirondacks, New York in Warren County. The creature observed us from about 100 feet away and broke large branches and made a large roaring/screaming like sound at least 7 times, maybe more that could only come from a very large mammal. I have been in the woods with very large bears and have even taken away food bags from bears, but this was no bear or Coy-dog, it was much larger.

We never did see it, but we could hear it following us out through the trail in the woods and I have NEVER been so scared in all my life. It kept coming closer — would stop and "roar", then approach us closer. We were nearly frozen in fear, but managed to collect our things from where we had been resting and nearly ran out of the woods. My wife is a very big skeptic of Bigfoot... until this point. The whole time we walked out of the woods, she kept on commenting that it was following us. We could feel it watching us and could hear it through the woods, a few times I saw something moving through the woods parallel with us but tried not to look as we both picked up large sticks in case in attacked us. There was no one parked at the trail head when we came out and I suspect it had followed out 2 other hikers that had hiked in earlier ahead of us and just happened to come across us.

The sounds we heard that day have really bothered me since then. I am literally scared to death of going into the woods alone now, even though I have been hiking for over 20 years. I can't explain the terror I felt from hearing this thing. I feel like I have to go back to the area and check it out, but my wife will never go back into the woods after this incident, that's how frightening these sounds were.

I was wondering if you know of anyone in the Upstate NY area that researches Bigfoot that would go up into the trail with me to just look around and see if we can maybe find tracks of some sort or look for signs of the creature. Thanks JW, witness identity withheld by request.

Today in Bigfoot History | JUL 08, 2012 | Longest Sasquatch Vocalizations Recorded

Bigfoot belting out a gigantic roar

"This is as it happend (sic) and 100% real.The experince (sic) lasted 20 mins..." --bigtoetime, YouTube user

Recorded on July 8th, 2012 and then uploaded to YouTube on August 13th, 2012, according to the user, this is the longest recorded bigfoot vocalization. Watch the video and read the description below.

Bigfoot screams captured on audio july 8th, 2012 in the sierras near clippermills,ca. This is as it happend and 100% real.The experince lasted 20 mins and It has been edited to 15 mins to youtubes requirements.

Today in Bigfoot History | JUL 07, 1977 | King of Apes Encountered in Texas

"King of Apes" 

"They ran to the home of Ed McFarland. Saw a king of apes but still a "man" with huge arms hanging to the knees". --Abilene Texas Morning Reporter-News July 7, 1977

Courtesy of John Green's BC Archives we have a classic story of tree breaks and rock throwing in Texas. Read the article below:

Hawley, Texas  --Two boys clearing brush in the morning at Bob Scott's ranch were resting around 10 a.m., when they notice breaking of tree limbs and shower of rocks, one of which hit Larry Suggs age 15 on the right calf.

They ran to the home of Ed McFarland. Saw a king of apes but still a "man" with huge arms hanging

to the knees. Returned with Renee McFarland and a .30 -.30. All three saw the creature 40 yards away in nettles. Suggs shot and missed. Creature glided off leaving foot-long prints and a rotten smell

© Abilene Texas Morning Reporter-News July 7, 1977

Courtesy John Green's BC Archives.