PhD Biologist, Dr. John Bindernagel's New Bigfoot Book

On his author page at Amazon.com Dr. John Bindernagel's bio is as follows.

John Bindernagel, PhD, is a Canadian biologist with over forty years of experience in wildlife research and conservation in North America and internationally. He was educated at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) and at the University of Wisconsin (USA). After beginning his career in Canada in 1963, he worked internationally with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations from 1965 until 1991. During this time he worked and taught in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Central America. There he was involved in wildlife surveys, the preparation and implementation of wildlife management measures, and conservation education.

Bindernagel's interest in the sasquatch, which began in 1965, influenced a family decision to relocate from central Canada to British Columbia in 1975. He continues to be involved in wildlife research and resides on Vancouver Island with his wife Joan.

John Green one of the original members of Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery says this about Bindernagel's previous book, "John Bindernagel, with a Ph.D. in wildlife biology and extensive field experience in more than one part of the world, has now supplied that need. North America's Great Ape: the Sasquatch could prove to be the most important book yet written on this fascinating subject."

Recently the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, does a great heart-felt piece of Biologist Dr. John Bindernagel. The article does a great job juxtoposing both his previous and most recent books.

Taking Sasquatch from the Tabloids to the Science Journals
Mark Hume


Wildlife biologist John Bindernagel feels it is only a matter of time before he is proved right, but he is wondering if he will be around for his vindication.

“I’m turning 70 this fall...time is running out. That’s certainly what I think about quite a lot,” said Dr. Bindernagel, who is one of the few scientists in the world who openly believes in Sasquatch.

He thinks hard scientific evidence, in the form of DNA, could be provided by researchers in the United States later this year, or next. But then again, his hopes have been raised before – only to be dashed when material promised by Sasquatch hunters didn’t materialize or turned out to be phony.

Films have been faked. Footprints have been faked. And in one entertaining case, a whole Sasquatch body was faked.

But Dr. Bindernagel says there has also been a lot of strong, compelling evidence for its existence over the years – multiple sightings of an ape-like creature in North American forests, physical signs such as twisted branches, and entirely credible tracks that have been photographed and preserved in casts.

That evidence, however, has been so overshadowed by the high-profile hoaxes that Sasquatch have been written off by the scientific community.

In 1998, after years of field research, Dr. Bindernagel published a book that treated the Sasquatch, for the sake of argument, not as a mythical creature, but as a species that just needed to be confirmed.

He thought his treatise would spark scientific debate.

Instead, he found himself shunned. At one wildlife conference, he said, a paper he wanted to present detailing what he thought was important evidence was dismissed as “tabloid material” not worthy of discussion. He wasn’t even allowed to present his argument, let alone defend it.

“It isn’t uncommon for a discovery that’s seen as far-fetched, such as this one, to be resisted [by the scientific community],” he said.

Dr. Bindernagel said at first he was stung by the way his colleagues rejected his ideas, but he has become more philosophical about it.

This summer he released a new book, The Discovery of the Sasquatch – Reconciling Culture, History, and Science in the Discovery Process, which deals as much with the scientific community’s attitude as it does with the Sasquatch itself.

“In my first book, I described the anatomy and behaviour of Sasquatch. And there was no scientific discussion of that book at all. After about three years, I realized...the problem is I had described the anatomy and behaviour of an animal not yet discovered,” said Dr. Bindernagel.

In his new book, he argues that, in fact, the Sasquatch has been discovered, but the discovery has not been acknowledged because the scientific community has a blind spot about the subject.

“I describe it as an unwillingness to consider the evidence,” Dr. Bindernagel said. “I’m not concerned whether or not the scientific community accepts that the Sasquatch exists. I am concerned, however, that they are unwilling to scrutinize the evidence. That does speak to a kind of closed-mindedness.”

He said the attitude baffles him, and he is hoping his new book will open doors so that he can speak at conferences and present his ideas.

“The real mystery of the Sasquatch is not, does it exist or not? But why is it a scientifically taboo subject? And that is quite interesting. That’s really what I got to in the book. It became as much about the discovery process as it did about the Sasquatch.”

His book also chronicles the long history of reported sightings, dating back to the 1800s. One section deals with the pre-contact record, as seen in native carvings, including a startling mask from the Nass Valley that looks like it was modelled on the face of an ape.

Dr. Bindernagel said early anthropologists always recorded native stories about the Sasquatch as tales of a “mythical beast” not as something real.

Native story tellers, he argues, were describing something they’d seen – but they couldn’t get themselves taken seriously.

Centuries later, he’s pretty much in the same spot. What will it take to change that?

“People say you need a [Sasquatch] body...well, obviously. But my question has always been, can we not address this subject prior to that?” he asks.

You can purchase both of Dr. John Bindernagel's books at his website BigfootBiologist.Org

Paranormal America Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture

On October 29th, 2010 Discovery Magazine interviewed, Christopher Bader, co-author of Paranormal America Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture in a Halloween themed article.

To understand what drives some people to truly believe, Bader spent nights in haunted houses, trekked with Bigfoot hunters, sat in on support groups for people who had been abducted by aliens, and conducted two nationwide surveys. One of the most interesting take-aways was, as Bader says:

"Bigfoot hunters were perhaps the most surprising group, Bader said. They defied all stereotypes of paranormal pursuers who wear flowing clothes and commune with spirits."

The book is described at New York University Press as:

A significant number of Americans spend their weekends at UFO conventions hearing whispers of government cover-ups, at New Age gatherings learning the keys to enlightenment, or ambling around historical downtowns learning about resident ghosts in tourist-targeted “ghost walks”. They have been fed a steady diet of fictional shows with paranormal themes such as The X-Files, Supernatural, and Medium, shows that may seek to simply entertain, but also serve to disseminate paranormal beliefs. The public hunger for the paranormal seems insatiable.

Paranormal America provides the definitive portrait of Americans who believe in or have experienced such phenomena as ghosts, Bigfoot, UFOs, psychic phenomena, astrology, and the power of mediums. However, unlike many books on the paranormal, this volume does not focus on proving or disproving the paranormal, but rather on understanding the people who believe and how those beliefs shape their lives.

Drawing on the Baylor Religion Survey—a multi-year national random sample of American religious values, practices, and behaviors—as well as extensive fieldwork including joining hunts for Bigfoot and spending the night in a haunted house, authors Christopher Bader, F. Carson Mencken, and Joseph Baker shed light on what the various types of paranormal experiences, beliefs, and activities claimed by Americans are; whether holding an unconventional belief, such as believing in Bigfoot, means that one is unconventional in other attitudes and behaviors; who has such experiences and beliefs and how they differ from other Americans; and if we can expect major religions to emerge from the paranormal.

Brimming with engaging personal stories and provocative findings, Paranormal America is an entertaining yet authoritative look at a growing segment of American religious culture.

You May Also Like
Bigfoot hunters were perhaps the most surprising group
Psychoanalyzing Bigfooters

External Links
Book Preview at Google
NY University Press Website

Anatomy of a Beast

I am delighted to say we have raised the bar as far as journalistic excellence. This post is filed by our newest Bigfoot Lunch Clubber--and yes, he know's the handshake.
Hermon Joyner is a gifted professional writer/photographer reminding us what hack's we are. Hopefully we will be posting more from Hermon sooner than later. Without further ado...

At the Reading of Michael McLeod’s Anatomy of a Beast

Michael McLeod gave a reading at Powell’s Bookstore on Hawthorne St. in Portland, Oregon, last week on April 23rd, for his new book called Anatomy of a Beast. The subtitle of the book is “Obsession and Myth on the Trail of Bigfoot.” According to McLeod, this book isn’t so much an examination of the existence of Bigfoot, which he says is an absolute impossibility, but a look at the some of the people connected to the spreading of the Bigfoot myth, namely Roger Patterson.

As readings go, it was exceptionally dull for such an interesting subject. For a while, it seemed as if he was filibustering his own meeting, reading several random, seemingly endless, selections from the book, dragging out the time, so he wouldn’t have to answer or take questions from the audience. It was only after he started to take questions that things became interesting at all.

I found it somewhat ironic that he commented that people who believe in Bigfoot will look at any piece of evidence and never question it because they’ve already made up their minds as to whether Bigfoot exists. Yet McLeod said that even if the Patterson footage looks believable, it can’t be true because Bigfoot doesn’t exist—it’s just not possible. It seems like flipsides of the same coin to me.

While the book may be a good read—the bit I read in the bookstore seemed well written enough—McLeod’s own patronizing, dismissive take on the subject did nothing to encourage me to buy or read his book. No matter what you believe about Bigfoot, if you write a book about it, you should be prepared to have fun with it, especially in a public venue. No fun was to be had at that reading, though.

—Hermon Joyner

Bart Bigfoot

News Review Today alerts us of a children's book series featuring a loving character named Bart Bigfoot.

Together, Barnes and Roseburg artist Dave Ewart have hatched a gentle-faced, mixed breed of man and beast named Bart Bigfoot. The author and illustrator team finished the third book in the series just before Christmas. Since then, Barnes has been busying herself with book signings and readings to introduce the friendly character to Douglas County children.

The three books — “”Bart Bigfoot and the Red Fox,” “Bart Bigfoot Helps Green Snake” and “Bart Bigfoot Believes Christmas is Love!” — explore Bart’s life as he manages a farm and befriends the creatures in the hills that surround him.

Each book has a message — respecting privacy, caring for others, trusting and forgiving — and the pages are filled with lifelike watercolors of Bart and his menagerie of animal friends as they traipse through the countryside.

You can read more about the series and author here.

Bigfoot's 3rd Book

You may remember my post on Bigfoot's Autobiography, well I am happy to say there has been a third installment and our friend Bigfoot is as prolific as ever.

In his eagerly anticipated follow-up to Me Write Book, Bigfoot returns from exile to share his inspiring, hilarious, and often deeply disturbing experiences as a misunderstood forest gentleman and tragic media darling.

These entertaining and often grizzly stories stand not only as a testament to the greatness of the legendary man-beast, but also as a chilling cautionary tale of the downside of a life of celebrity, cannibalism, celebrity cannibalism, wanton violence, and lack of toilet training. As in Me Write Book, full-color glossy spreads depict every intimate, disgusting, and downright insane moment of Bigfoot's life.

Bigfoot: I Not Dead is an unforgettable memoir that will stay with readers long after his foul scent has dissipated.


Here is an interview with Bigfoot from walrusmagazine.com

This month marks the release of the third book in a series of collaborative memoirs by Bigfoot and Walrus contributing illustrator Graham Roumieu. Bigfoot: I Not Dead is a tender yet violent addition to Bigfoot’s ongoing self-exploration project, sure to please both fans of his previous work and those who aren’t yet familiar with him but enjoy furry creatures, mutilation, poetry, existential anxiety, and/or hard-learned life lessons.

Readers in Toronto should be sure to attend the book’s launch, which takes place Thursday night at the Gladstone Hotel as part of Pages Books’ “This Is Not a Reading Series.” Michael Winter, Nathan Whitlock, Douglas Bell, The Walrus’s own Jeremy Keehn, and others will speak about what Bigfoot means to them. Second floor, 7.30pm, free.

I reached Bigfoot last week at his home in the woods.

How has your life changed since your first book came out?
Bigfoot hang dirty laundry on line for all to see. Some things just needed be aired out on wind of disclosure. Others so heavy shit-encrusted that they fall off of line into mud and now scrutiny birds pick bits of corn out of it and neighbor steal and put on Ebay. Not totally regret writing books but wish sometime to go back to old technique of whisper secrets into hollow stump.

In your second book you noted that you had trouble talking to strangers and interacting in social settings. As you’ve become even more famous, has your social anxiety disorder eased, or are you still paralyzed with fear most of the time? If so, do you have any stress-reducing techniques that you’d like to share with our readers?

Some people when nervous in front of big crowd imagine audience naked. Bigfoot like imagine them cover in layer of fur. Used to imagine audience naked and dead but only creep Bigfoot out more and lead me to uncontrollable laughing and sobbing.

Really find no technique that work well for Bigfoot. No can trust human and animals. Always put on spot, want me tell funny story or smash things or want steal Bigfoot internal organ for dry and grind down and use in folk remedy tea. Bigfoot bit of introvert but still make effort go out and socialize. If conversation go bad always have last resort of smash bad person and flee into woods.

Some of your readers have noticed a new, darker component in your work. I’m thinking, for instance, of your sculptures, one of which recently featured a bleeding deer carcass in a flowerbed, adorned with a teddy bear, a thigh bone, two roses, a box of chocolates, and an engagement ring. You spelled out ‘Marry me’ in blood. (There was no question mark.) Is this a new element in your self-expression, or simply a more graphic manifestation of what we’ve seen so far?

No dark, just misunderstood and ahead of time. Bigfoot like working with hands. Very artistic. If Bryan Adams can make photo nice, why not Bigfoot make big blood and meat pile good too? You just afraid of what you no understand.

In your new book you offer the “Bigfoot Guide for Everything Ever Want Know About Forest Animal” in which you note that Leroy the grizzly bear is probably totally impotent, Bernard the beaver is an Al-Qaeda sleeper agent, and Mr. Miggins, who is some kind of weasel, is a pervert. What would that guide say about Bigfoot? And is it possible that by lashing out at your fellow forest creatures with simplistic definitions, you’re really trying to react against a world that has understood you simplistically? And if so, that’s a bit ironic, no?

I not understand question. Wait, are you calling Bigfoot stupid? Bigfoot only call it like he see it unlike this magazine where Bigfoot be make look stupid by get ask stupid question so magazine make look smart.

What’s next for you? Do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

I am going to kill interview man.

Once again if you get the book get it at Powell's Books The largest Bookstore i the world.