NBC Affiliate Reports "Wild Man" Returns to North Texas

KTEN News of Texoma Reports return of the Wild Man a/k/a Bigfoot

"You can actually feel it in your body.  The only way I can describe it is like when a train is running real close to you and you want to just take off running," --Bill Gibson

After the news segment below you can read an excerpt from the supporting article posted on KTEN.COM

KTEN.com - No One Gets You Closer

Bill Gibson and his family have been living in this house on the east side of town all their lives.   Bill recalls the first time he heard what people in the area call the "Wild Man of North Texas."  It was 40 years ago.

"You can actually feel it in your body.  The only way I can describe it is like when a train is running real close to you and you want to just take off running," said Gibson. 

Bill's son Jeremy was just ten years old when he first heard the sound.  He says he's been haunted by the creature ever since.

"I know what's out there.  I know it."  "What's out there?"  "Something big."

After years of silence, the Gibson's say the "wild man" has returned, waking them up in the mornings with it's howls.  But, this time they called in renowned Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi to investigate.

"We know that something has been through here in the last three days," Biscardi said.

We've all heard the stories.  But we can assure you, whether or not you believe in Bigfoot is the last thing on Biscardi's mind, because he says he's seen one.

"When first I started out I was a doubting thomas, excuse the pun.  But then after I saw one and I got real close, I said to myself my god," Biscardi said.

 Biscardi and his men found what they believed to be several large foot prints in a clearing about a mile away from the Gibson's home.  So, they set up a perimeter, hung bate and strapped infrared motion sensor cameras to the surrounding trees.

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. 

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 07 | First Documented Mystery Footprint

Postage stamp commemorating David Thompson's Life and reputation as a mapmaker

Today in 1811, marks the first recorded account of an overly large foot print in North America by a non-native person. The honor goes to David Thompson, a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, who was known for keeping detailed records. On January 7th, 1811, Mr. Thompson found curious animal tracks in the snow near Jasper, Alberta. He described the tracks as 14 inch long footprints (see T.C. Elliott, "Journal of David Thompson", Oregon Historical Quarterly, 15 March-June 1914) Some years later, a book of Thompson's, David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations of Western America, based on his journal, was published. In it he says:

I now recur to what I have already noticed in the early part of last winter, when proceeding up the Athabasca River to cross the mountains, in company with.... Men and four hunters, on one of the channels of the River we came to the track of a large animal, which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth by a tape line. As snow was about six inches in depth the track was well defined, and we could see it for a full hundred yards from us, this animal was proceeding from north to south. We did not attempt to follow it, we had not time for it, and the Hunters, eager as they are to follow and shoot every animal, made no attempt to follow this beast, for what could the balls of our fowling guns do against such an animal? Report from old times had made the head branches of this River, and the Mountains in the vicinity the abode of one, or more, very large animals, to which I never appeared to give credence; for these reports appeared to arise from that fondness for the marvelous so common to mankind: but the sight of the track of that large a beast staggered me, and I often thought of it, yet never could bring myself to believe such an animal existed, but thought it might be the track of some Monster Bear.

For all you rational, critical thinkers who took Santa Claus away from us at 6yrs old. Yes, we know snow melt distorts prints and we don't know how long the tracks were laid before they were discovered. We are also aware that 8 inches is rather wide for a 14 inch print. Prints 8 inches wide are usually at least 17-18 inches in length. So even with the obligatory caveats listed in the previous sentences, we still love adopting David Thompson's mystery creature into the Bigfoot lore. After all, we are the same blog that thinks historically, werewolves are potentially misidentified Bigfoots.

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 04 | Oliver the "Baby Bigfoot" DNA Results

Oliver was known as baby bigfoot, the missing link and even the humanzee

"I still get inquiries about Oliver really being a Bigfoot." -- Loren Coleman

Today in 1976, a newspaper declared the mDNA results of a captured “Baby Bigfoot,” while unique, the Baby Bigfoot was merely a chimpanzee. Oliver (pictured above) was often known as Baby Bigfoot, but a more modern, and perhaps cleverer moniker, was coined in a recent documentary broadcast on the Discovery Channel. This documentary called "Humanzee," featured an upright walking chimpanzee named Oliver. For those who have heard of Oliver before, he's just a chimp according to test results. Chimp or "Humanzee," Oliver was a remarkable, upright walking chimp who appeared to prefer living and behaving as a human being than a chimpanzee for the better part of his life.

At cryptomundo.com Loren Coleman wrote in 2007, "I still get inquiries about Oliver really being a Bigfoot."

Oliver's had a real strange and sordid history. Others have noted Oliver's peculiar smell, eye coloring, bird-like voice and various mannerisms as being very un-chimp-like. And then there is Oliver's sense of himself. The prevailing view is that Oliver is simply a mutant chimp. Could Oliver be the result of clandestine genetic alchemy? A mutant or hybrid chimp? Missing Link perhaps?

BOERNE -- His days on the freak circuit and on tabloid covers as the fabled ``missing link,'' are finally behind him, as are seven lost years in a medical research laboratory.

Now, Oliver, a mild-mannered, middle-aged ape that walks upright like a human, is taking a well-deserved Hill Country retirement, but is no less a scientific mystery than he first appeared 25 years ago.

"Oliver's had a real strange and sordid history. He was exploited tremendously for his very unusual morphological characteristics,'' said Ken DeCroo, a California anthropologist and animal trainer who owned him a decade ago and, like others, has not forgotten him. "His physical appearance was rather different than most chimps. He's bipedal, which means he walks on two feet, and that is very unusual. And another aspect is his very small head,'' he said.

Others have noted Oliver's peculiar smell, eye coloring, bird-like voice and various mannerisms as being very un-chimp-like. And then there is Oliver's sense of himself. "He was not like normal chimps and other chimps didn't get along with him too well. He preferred to be with humans,'' recalled Bill Rivers, another former owner. But Oliver has mellowed with the years. Since May, when he and 11 other chimps were retired from the Buckshire Corp., a research center in Pennsylvania, Oliver has shared a spacious open-air cage with other chimps at Primarily Primates.

Wally Swett, director of the primate sanctuary, said his newest celebrity guest is adapting well, and, after years in isolation, has formed an attachment. "He's bonded with one little female,'' said Swett.

"And he understands a lot and is quite cooperative. And he's not like other male chimps which can get quite grabby and aggressive,'' he said.

Old news accounts assert that Oliver has 47 chromosomes (see results info below), one more than a human, one less than a chimpanzee, but there are no records to confirm it. Quite soon, possibly for the first time, Oliver will undergo sophisticated blood and genetic analysis to resolve, once and for all, exactly who or what he is.

"The prevailing view is that Oliver is simply a mutant chimp. Others think he may be a cross between a common chimp and a pygmy chimp, and soon we'll be able to make a determination,'' said Dr. Gordon Gallup, an anthropology professor at the University of New York at Albany.

But, said Gallup, who has lectured about Oliver in his evolutionary psychology course, there are other possibilities holding infinitely more complicated implications. "It's difficult to know for sure, but I think there is reason to suspect that Oliver may be a human-chimpanzee hybrid. It turns out that humans and chimps are at least 99 percent identical in terms of basic biological chemistry, and you can get hybrids among much more diverse creatures than that,'' he said.

Rumors of such taboo experiments being conducted in China, Italy and the United States have persisted for years, but have never been acknowledged. Could Oliver be the result of clandestine genetic alchemy? The answer may come after a blood sample -- to be taken from Oliver at an upcoming medical examination -- are tested at the University of Chicago, allowing scientists there to finally determine his genetic pedigree.

"Let you imagination run wild. It has such mind-boggling implications for things like religion, and whether such a creature would be covered by the Bill of Rights. It could make people think about their relationship to evolution,'' said Gallup. "But until there is some evidence either way, it's simply an academic exercise rather than anything you can take seriously,'' he said.

Dr. David Ledbetter, who will do the testing, said genetics technology will allow him to determine if Oliver is a normal or mutant chimp, and if he proves to be a hybrid, his parentage. "It seems a little silly to me to have all this rumor and controversy floating around when its a very straightforward thing to do the chromosome analysis,'' he said. A spokesperson for the Yerkes Primate Center in Atlanta, the most prestigious primate research facility in the country, said scientists there had never heard of Oliver.

Oliver surfaced in the early 1970s, when he was acquired as a baby by trainers Frank and Janet Burger whose dog, chimp, pony and pig acts were once regularly featured on the Ed Sullivan Show, at Radio City Music Hall, and once even by dancer Gene Kelly. "He came in from Africa with three other chimps that one of Frank's brothers had sent over from the Congo. But this one we could never use. He was odd and the other chimps would have nothing to do with him,'' recalled Janet Burger, 69. But if Oliver was strange in appearance, and was shunned by other chimps, his intelligence and personality were also quite different from the other apes in the Burgers' entourage.

"You could send him on chores. He would take the wheelbarrow and empty the hay and straw from the stalls. And when it was time to feed the dogs, he would get the pans, and mix the dog food for me. I'd get it ready and he'd mix it,'' she said. As he grew older, Oliver also acquired habits normally enjoyed only by humans, including a cup of coffee and a nightcap. "This guy, Oliver, he enjoyed sitting down at night and having a drink, and watching television. He'd mix his own. He'd pour a shot of whiskey and put some Seven-Up in there, stir it and drink it,'' she recalled.

Oliver also displayed emotions not normally associated with chimpanzees, including tears of remorse at temporary separations. But ultimately, it was another of Oliver's human like traits that forced the Burgers to sell him. By 1976, when he was approaching sexual maturity, Oliver was turning into a masher.

"He had sex on his mind. The old hormones flared up but he didn't care about the female chimps we had, he started trying to have sex with me and any other woman,'' recalled Burger. "I was leery of him. He was as strong as five men, so I told my husband, "I'm not putting up with this. He's going or I'm going," so we sold him to Michael Miller and his partner for $8,000,'' she said.

Miller, a New York City lawyer, had seen dollar signs in Oliver, and took him on the road, including Japan, where newspaper accounts report that 26 million Japanese viewed him.

In the United States and overseas, breathless speculation raged over the ape with the shaved head. Was he "the baby Bigfoot?'' A mutant or hybrid chimp? Or perhaps a newly discovered primitive African humanoid? Miller also hinted at the unspeakable: An ape-human hybrid.

In press accounts of the time, Miller said he intended for Oliver to undergo a full battery of scientific tests to determine his identity, but the results, if any, were never made public. After belonging to Miller for several years, Oliver was owned by a series of West Coast animal trainers, beginning with Ralph Helfer, owner of Enchanted Village in Buena Park, Ca., where Oliver was exhibited as a freak. "They had two or three shows a day. I'd just walk him out on stage while another fellow talked about him. They had theories that he was half-man, half-ape. That was part of the show,'' recalled Bill Rivers, who years later would be the last animal trainer to own Oliver. "It was just like seeing a space alien,'' he said.

Oliver later became part of Helfer's menagerie at Gentle Jungle doing occasional television commercials and shows. But when the facility closed he was given to Ken DeCroo who had worked there. DeCroo, an anthropologist and animal trainer, said Oliver was unlike any of the hundreds of chimps he had worked with in both research and commercial settings. "It was very hard to predict what was happening in that brain and generally he acted more human than chimp in a lot of settings,'' recalled DeCroo.

"This is the classic example. Very often I would sit him down in the living room with me to drink coffee. And one time he was out of coffee. I never trained him to do this, but maybe he knew it from the past. He got up from the table, walked into the kitchen, picked up the coffee pot, poured coffee into my cup, then into his, and then took the pot back into the kitchen,'' he said. "But here's the chimp part. He's making a terrible mess. His brain is telling him what to do, but his body isn't quite doing it. But he had the awareness. He understood where all the elements fit and that I was out of coffee. It was shocking,'' he said. DeCroo is now struggling to put Oliver down on paper. "I'll tell you how much Oliver has affected me in my life. I'm writing a novel, which is very much fiction, but is very much based on Oliver,'' he said.

"It's about researchers in a university that decide to do the experiment: man and ape. This experiment is quite possible, but would you do it?" he asked. "In deciding that, you can imagine the ramifications both ethically and scientifically. And what do you do with the creature in the end? It's quite an adventure and Oliver inspired it,'' he said.

DeCroo said in 1986, when he closed his animal compound, he sold Oliver to Bill Rivers with the understanding Oliver would be given a decent retirement. When he heard later Oliver had ended up at a research facility he was remorseful. "He was a good friend and I've always felt guilty. I failed Oliver. I really thought he wasn't going anywhere,'' said DeCroo. But Rivers said he eventually sold Oliver to the Buckshire Corporation, where he languished for almost seven years, when the ape proved too difficult to keep. "He couldn't get along with the other chimps. I was doing a lot of traveling. I really didn't have a place for him,'' said Rivers.

According to Buckshire president Sharon Hursh, Oliver showed signs of a rough treatment, but was never used for research. "When we got him, we gave him an entrance physical and it was evident to us he'd had a pretty tough life. Somewhere along the line, he must have been a tough chimp. He had scars that indicated rough handling,'' she said. "We basically purchased him for laboratory research but he was never used. He just sort of ate, kicked back and slept all day,'' she said. Fortunately for Oliver, others did not forget him.

Vincent Pace, a concert pianist and circus ochestra leader, met Oliver when the Burgers were traveling with the Vargas Circus in the early 1970's. But when Oliver was put up for sale in 1976, Pace said he was outbid by Miller, the New York lawyer. "I lost track of him totally for 20 years,'' said Pace.

"But two years ago I came into a big sum of money and I made a list of things I wanted to do. I wanted to buy a new Rolls Royce, I wanted a face lift and I wanted a new baby chimp. And in searching for a new chimp, I bumped into Oliver at the Buckshire,'' he said. Initially, he said, the Buckshire appeared willing to release Oliver. "I spent $70,000 to build a room on my house here for him. It's all plexi-glass, stainless steel and Formica. He'd have private eating quarters,'' he said. But after his attempt to get Oliver failed, said Pace, he was glad to see him and 11 other Buckshire chimps end up with Primarily Primates in Boerne.

"I'd lived without him for so long, I thought getting him out and into anybody's hands would be better than him being where he was,'' said Pace. "Someday I'll go to Texas and see Oliver before he dies. This animal is almost human in his emotions,'' he said.

Regardless of the outcome of the genetic testing, Oliver will enjoy a peaceful and permanent refuge in Boerne, said Swett. "He's been dragged around and exploited for over 20 years, but this is his final retirement. He'll never go into research or on exhibit again,'' said Swett. "In terms of significant scientific findings, we'll play it by ear, but never to the point of inconveniencing Oliver,'' he said.

Thanks to astute and resourceful BLC fan, Nadia Moore for finding this link for the abstract of Oliver's DNA results.  

Texas Local News: Photographer Snaps Picture of Bigfoot

KLTV.com News anchor, Anissa Centers, reports on Bigfoot photograph

"No, I've never seen one , never believed in one," -- Texas photographer, who wishes to remain anonymous, believes he has now had his first Bigfoot encounter.

**UPDATE:  Astute BLC fans, Oscar Grogg and Bobby Kean, alerted us to Phil Poling's insightful analysis of the Bigfoot photo. You can watch it at the end of this post. 

In a report filed yesterday, October 21, 2012, KLTV reports of a Texas man who is convinced that he may have snapped a picture of Bigfoot after having rocks thrown at him. The investigation was done by Mike Hall of TexLA ,a Cryptozoological research team.

Below is an excerpt of the report followed by embedded video.

Photographer snaps possible Texas Bigfoot shots
By Bob Hallmark - bio

There have been reported sightings of bigfoot in remote East Texas locations, and even near Dallas, and a photographer says he has proof that bigfoot may be closer than we think. The Dallas area photographer, who remains anonymous , was never a bigfoot believer by his own admission.

"No, I've never seen one , never believed in one," he says.

But a huge stone thrown at him in the woods one camping trip, with no one else around, changed his mind.

"An object landed within ten feet of us that I know of no human being able to throw it that far. There was one about 10 foot tall. A family group drew in close, three of which got within 15 feet of me. It looked like something out of a Steven Spielberg movie, not human as I know it," he says.

He shot images in Shelby county of something moving in the woods. Outside of Dallas he shot images of something large and hairy watching from the trees. But light and shadow can play tricks. East Texas bigfoot researcher Mike Hall and his team from Texla crypto zoological research examined the images to see if they have merit.

"Some of the shots you can actually make out what looks like a pair of eyes. There is something there staring back at him taking video. There is something there, question is, what is it?," Hall says.

One shot looking very similar to the Roger Patterson bigfoot film of 1967. A crest or conical ridge on what appears to be the head.

"The cone looking head, in the still shot that's very compelling, something definitely moving across the brush just observing," says fellow researcher Larry Parks.

The photographer is keeping his identity anonymous but did say he would be releasing more video evidence in the future.

SRC: KLTV

Phil Poling's Analysis.

EXTERNAL LINKS
KLTV News
TexLa Cryptozoological Research Website
Phil Poling's ParaBreakdown YouTube Channel

The Pangboche Five: The Shorter Version of the Yeti Finger History

(left to right: Tom Slick, Peter Byrne, Jimmy Stewart, Gloria Stewart, Dr. Osman Hill)

By now you may know the Pangboche finger has been tested and has been declared human based on DNA evidence. This does not make the story behind the retrieval of the Pangboche Yeti Finger any less intriguing. In a nut shell this is how the PangbocheYeti Finger was found, lost and found again.

Tom Slick Finances (1916 – October 6, 1962) A San Antonio, Texas based inventor, businessman, adventurer, and heir to an oil business. Possibly the the model for the Dos Equis "most interesting man in the world" commercials. In 1957 he finances a 3-year American Yeti Expedition led by Peter Byrne.

Peter Byrne Travels

In his own words: "In 1958, the second year of the three year American Yeti expedition...I and my brother Bryan were camped in a meadow close to the temple of Pangboche." 

Peter ended up talking Yeti stuff with a temple custodian and finds out there is a Yeti hand in the temple and is even invited to see it.

Again, in his own words, Peter describes the hand, "The find-of what looked to me like a partially mummified primate hand, black and glistening from the oily smoke of the temple lamps-was very exciting and I immediately sent a runner off to India with a cable to Tom Slick, telling him  about it."

Tom Slick, "Get That Hand!"

Peter Byrne writes he receives word back, "Slick said that it was imperative that we get  the hand and bring it to England, where it could be scientifically examined under controlled conditions. Failing that we should try and get at least one finger and then get it to London where an associate of his, a Dr. Osman Hill, a renowned British primatologist, would examine it and determine its authenticity."

Peter Byrne asks for a Hand-out

I talked with the Nepalese-speaking lama about borrowing the hand for examination and he consulted with the other custodians. The answer was no. The hand must not leave the temple. Taking it from the temple would disturb the local deities and bring bad luck.”

There are two stories how Byrne was able to overcome this hurdle. According to the first version Byrne told decades ago, he solved the problem by getting the monk on duty that night drunk on rum and, when the monk passed out, switching a human fingerbone for one of the bones in the Pangboche Hand. A later story told to Mike Allsop, an adventurer who was interested in the Pangboche Yeti Hand history.

“So I made a  counter proposition, which was that they give me a just one finger and that this would suffice. They all sat down and pondered on this for a couple of days and then agreed to my request if two things were done. One, I would have to replace the finger with another finger. And, two, I would  have to make a substantial contribution towards the upkeep of the temple."

Tom, Peter and Dr. Osman Shake Hands
Peter Byrne goes to London to meet with Tom Slick and Dr Osman to discus the plans for replacing the hand. Peter decribes the luncheon to Allsop, "we discussed a strategy for getting the finger and replacing it with another one. The problem, of course, was getting a replacement. But this was quickly solved by Osman Hill who had brought a human hand with him…which he produced from a brown paper bag..."  Yes, had probably been carrying a human hand in a brown paper bag and brought it to lunch.

>> Fast forward: Peter returns to the Temple and gets the finger

Tom Slick: Give Jimmy Stewart the Finger
In a letter to Mike Allsop, Byrne recalls instructions from Tom Slick to deliver the finger to Jimmy and Gloria Stewart, "“Another cable arrived from Slick and in it was a further instruction…  go to Calcutta, take the finger with you, get there soon, and plan to meet with a Mr. and Mrs. Stewart at the Grand Hotel, on Chowringhee Road;  they will be expecting you and they will take the finger and get it to Osman Hill in London.

“So I hiked down to the border again, took another train to Calcutta, took a taxi to the Grand and booked in. A few hours later I knocked on the door of an upstairs suite and was warmly greeted by the famous and quite delightful Stewarts, Jimmy and Gloria.

“I handed over the finger, after which we had a most enjoyable evening together and a very good dinner at the Grand’s Casanova restaurant.”

The Stewarts as Stewards
The Toronto Sun recaps the tale. "...Gloria Stewart told the story of how she and Jimmy decided to smuggle the finger out of India in her lingerie case. Yes, as well as smuggling antiquities out of sovereign countries, celebrities and other women of a certain social strata used to travel with special baggage for their undies, etc.

As Gloria later told the story, the lingerie case was missing when the Stewarts finally arrived at the Dorchester Hotel in London. A few days later, Her Majesty’s Customs Service contacted the Stewarts to arrange a meeting.

At the appointed time and place, a young Customs official appeared — with Gloria’s lingerie case in hand. After due courtesies, the awe-struck young movie buff gave Gloria the case, shook the Stewarts’ hands and took his leave from the Hollywood royals."

Dr. Osman Hill Primate Authority
The good doctor was a leading authority on primate anatomy during the 20th century. It says so on his wikipedia page.

"William Charles Osman Hill (13 July 1901 – 25 January 1975) was a British anatomist,primatologist, and a leading authority on primate anatomy during the 20th century. He is best known for his nearly completed eight-volume series, Primates: Comparative Anatomy and Taxonomy, which covered all living and extinct primates known at the time in full detail and contained illustrations created by his wife, Yvonne. Schooled at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys in Birmingham and University of Birmingham, he went on to publish 248 works and accumulated a vast collection of primate specimens that are now stored at the Royal College of Surgeons of England."-- SRC: Wikipedia contributors, "William Charles Osman Hill," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Charles_Osman_Hill&oldid=451353600 (accessed December 28, 2011).

His Findings?
According to a Toronto Sun Article earlier this year:

Maybe yes. Maybe no. But not human. And not ape. Something in between. Osmond Smith’s  first finding was that the finger bones were “hominid” — the broad anthropological category of upright walkers that includes modern humans and Neanderthals. He later refined that verdict to say the sample was a closer match to Neanderthal than modern human.

Don’t forget, this is  back in 1959 and 1960, loooong before DNA testing.

However, another member of Tom Slick’s scientific team, American anthropologist George Agogino, also received a portion on the Pangboche finger. And in 1991, Agogino turned it over to an NBC program called Unsolved Mysteries — and they did tests.

I’m sorry to say nothing conclusive came from these studies either — not human, not ape — but if you don’t have a yeti to compare your sample to, how ya gonna know it’s a yeti?

Unsolved Mysteries
Below is the clip from unsolved nysteries:

To read what happened next and the DNA results check out our post http://www.bigfootlunchclub.com/2011/12/bbc-news-pangboche-finger-is-human-not.html

Spiegel Online: Hiking the Redwoods with California's 'Squatchers'

Brandon Kiel, 41, is a San Francisco-based field researcher with the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (Photo: Gabriela Hasbun / DER SPIEGEL)

"I like the romantic notion of our search, this wonderful gray area," Kiel says. If Bigfoot is actually discovered one day, he notes: "Then all of this will be over."

Germans are interested in Bigfoot too, Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.

This is a thoughtful article that reflects bigfooting in a way we may not get in the American mainstream press.

A Passion for Bigfoot
By Philip Bethge

The plaintive howl echoes through the forest sounding like a muffled "whoop, whoop, whoop." Brandon Kiel pauses to listen in the dark, holding his breath for a moment before drawing air into his lungs.

Once again, Kiel cups his hands in front of his mouth and imitates the call: "whoop, whoop, whoop." The sound echoes back through the night, but all else is silence. Bigfoot isn't answering.
"The season is favorable," Kiel says, with a touch of disappointment. "But it's always possible that the animals are not in the area." The blueberries are ripe, and the calves of the Roosevelt elk, one of Bigfoot's favorite foods, haven't matured yet.

Kiel, 41, is a field researcher with the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO), a group based in the United States. The creature he is looking for is said to be clever, shy and stealthy -- an expert at camouflaging itself. But here in the redwood forests of northern California, Kiel is hoping he'll be blessed with hunter's luck. He and 20 fellow field researchers are on an expedition to track down Bigfoot.

The Believers

Kiel calls the ominous creature "Squatch," short for "Sasquatch," a word in a Native American language that means "wild man of the woods". The shaggy, mythical creature -- half ape, half human -- is believed to be powerfully built, reach heights of up to 2.5 meters (over 8 feet) and weigh up to 230 kilograms (500 pounds), and it allegedly spends its time skulking through the forests of North America. So far, there is no real evidence of the existence of this alleged primate species. Indeed, human beings have never actually gotten their hands on a Sasquatch, either dead or alive.

Nevertheless, experienced "Squatchers" like Kiel are convinced that the animal exists. Even the Native Americans in the region had songs praising this mysterious miniature version of King Kong. Dozens of huge footprints have been found. Hundreds of eyewitnesses from the Canadian province of British Columbia all the way down to Florida -- including police officers, park rangers and professors -- claim to have laid eyes on the creature. The literature even mentions tufts of hair and a Bigfoot toenail found near the Grand Canyon.

"I am convinced that the Sasquatch exists," says British Columbia wildlife biologist John Bindernagel. For years, Bindernagel has put his academic reputation on the line by not only believing in Sasquatch, but also studying it. "I estimate the population of the animal to be several thousand at least," says Bindernagel, who has already written several books on Bigfoot.

Bindernagel also has a theory on how Bigfoot reached the American wilderness. He speculates that Gigantopithecus, an extinct genus of giant ape, once migrated from Asia across the same land bridge in what is now the Bering Strait that the first humans are believed to have crossed to reach North America.

The Squatchers

Bigfoot is believed to be particularly prevalent in the area around the town of Klamath, in northern California, where a group of adventurous souls has gathered on this October day. Camouflage clothing is de rigueur, and the mood is euphoric. The most avid members of the group have studied the BFRO's expedition handbook, which informs readers to expect "type 1" inspections: a visit by "one or more" Bigfoots to the tent camp while everyone is sleeping, "most often between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m."

No one in the group questions whether the creature exists. Instead, they discuss its biology. The Squatch is "mainly nocturnal," Kiel says. It lives in groups and is "stinky, musky." Its diet includes "roots, slugs, frogs, deer, elk, fish, onions and berries." It literally licks its fingers after eating a meal of skunk cabbage.

Kiel has a round face with a vandyke beard, and he keeps his hair cropped short. When asked whether he has ever encountered the creature, he says: "Sure, just a couple of weeks ago."

In late July, he explains, the Squatchers gathered at Bluff Creek, less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) east across the mountains. "We had walked about a mile and a half, when someone suddenly said: 'There's a Sasquatch sitting by the side of the road,'" Kiel recounts. "I didn't believe him, so I asked: 'Is it a bear?' But he was adamant."

Kiel grabbed an infrared camera and peered through the viewfinder. "And, sure enough," he says, "there was the heat signature of a very large animal with its back to us, without a neck, with massively broad shoulders and a pointy head. You could see it from the waist up. I was totally flabbergasted." Kiel claims that the creature then turned around and looked at him twice. The intimate exchange of glances lasted about 15 minutes. Then Kiel, the expedition leader, decided to pull out. "I wanted to be respectful," he says.

The area around Bluff Creek is well known among Bigfoot aficionados. It was where, on Oct. 20, 1967, a legendary amateur film was shot depicting a massive, hairy beast strolling through a riverbed for a few seconds.

Film experts -- and even special-effects artists working for the Disney corporation -- have repeatedly scrutinized the blurred, grainy footage. But the evidence remains unclear. Is the creature a person in an ape suit or a world sensation of cryptozoology, the search for animals whose existence has yet to be proven? The man who shot the video, a rodeo rider named Roger Patterson, continued to insist that the film was authentic up until his death in 1972.

At the BFRO camp in California, at any rate, no one questions the authenticity of the Patterson video. In fact, almost everyone in the group claims to have already seen a Bigfoot at least once. "I was elk hunting", says Rey Lopez, a government employee who lives near Sacramento. "At first I thought it was another hunter, but then I realized that it was a Sasquatch with whitish hair."

Alleged Proof

We pile into Lopez's large pickup truck and drive out into the night. After a few miles, he stops the truck on a parking lot in the middle of the woods. The group uses headlamps with red lenses to avoid startling the beast. After a brief walkie-talkie test, everyone is ready to go out "Squatching," the nightly foray into Bigfoot territory.

We spend the next few hours whispering and stumbling through the same woods in which parts of Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" were filmed. The undergrowth is wet, and the red light is barely strong enough to illuminate annoying roots poking out of the ground. Kiel, the expedition's leader, stops every once in a while and sends his "whoop" calls out into the night. Sometimes he also blows on a high-pitched whistle or hits trees with a large "Squatch knocker" -- in layman's terms, a branch -- hoping the hollow sound might attract Bigfoot.

Meanwhile, Robert Collier, who lives near Los Angeles, continues to observe everything with his night-vision goggles, which he proudly points out are "military grade." His eyes look green in the device's light.

The whole production has only one purpose: to somehow convince the woodland beast to communicate with the group. "Bigfoots have been known to answer us," says Kiel. "We experience time and again that rocks are thrown at us." He also points out that "wood-knocks," "whoops" and "screams" are regularly heard echoing from the undergrowth.

In fact, noisy audio recordings bear witness to the creature's supposed vocabulary, including sounds like blood-curdling screams and obscure-sounding jibberish. Particularly avid Squatchers say they've managed to make out bits of Russian and ancient Chinese in the audio soup.

Even some of the creature's genetic material is allegedly in circulation. Kiel claims that Melba Ketchum, a veterinarian based in Timpson, Texas, has analyzed dozens of hair samples, but that the results of her research have yet to be published. Nevertheless, there are rumors in the community that tissue from two dead Bigfoots is in refrigerated storage at Ketchum's laboratory.

Ketchum declines to comment, though, and the Squatchers have waited in vain for her to make an appearance at their annual Bigfoot conferences, which regularly attract several hundred attendees.

'A Good Excuse to Go Camping'

Does all of this sound crazy? Sure it does. And, yet, there are some questions that remain unanswered. For example, the 1992 discovery of a new bovine species, the Saola, in the jungles of Southeast Asia has given the Squatchers hope. The Saola lives in an area that is no less densely populated than many of the forested areas in the United States.

Couldn't it be possible that a shrewd giant ape has been hiding undiscovered in the forests of North America for centuries?

"It's a good excuse to go camping," says Bill Brewer, who harbors a healthy degree of skepticism despite being a BFRO member. Squatching, he says, also happens to be a lot of fun.

Perhaps this explains why these hikers in the northern California night seem undaunted in their enthusiasm, even though the woods remain stubbornly silent until the early morning hours. But at least that gives them a good reason to come back soon.
And it might also be that the Squatchers don't even want to find the mysterious, broad-shouldered creature after all.

"I like the romantic notion of our search, this wonderful gray area," Kiel says. If Bigfoot is actually discovered one day, he notes: "Then all of this will be over."

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
SRC: Spiegel Online

The Hydra of Bigfoot DNA research

In Greek Mythology the Hydra was a creature that had multiple heads, each of which, if cut off, grew back as two. We couldn't think of a better fitting analogy for the recent Bigfoot DNA research.

Many folks have tried to define Bigfoot DNA via hair samples, saliva, scat, etc. The DNA research was mostly being done by universities and other facilities that were presented with the evidence, but not really interested in the saquatch phenomena as a whole.

The Erickson Project was a means to get serious about Bigfoot evidence and DNA in particular. Melba Ketchum, a DNA expert, joined the team and eventually a statistician named Richard Stubstad. At one point they were working for the same team, but now they seem to be going in different directions like the many haeads of a hydra. recently there have been a few updates to what Melba and Richard have been up to.

Melba Ketchum is currently the highest profile person working to define Bigfoot DNA. She studied at Texas A&M University where she received her doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. In 1985 she founded DNA Diagnostics, a self-described leader in all types of DNA testing including: human and animal forensics, human and animal paternity and parentage testing, disease diagnostics, trait tests, animal and human identity testing, species identification and sex determination.

In recent news Melba Ketchum, the current queen of Sasquatch DNA research, has announced that the presentation of her research has taken longer than expected and has "assembled a renowned team, each of us with our own specialties."

You can read her full statement below:

Ok, for the sake of time ( and I hope all of you understand), I will answer everyone publicly here. I keep getting a lot of emails from everyone wanting to know the status of the project. Though I cannot give details or timing, I will assure everyone that all is well and we are continuing to move forward.

Good science cannot be forced or quickly completed. If it is not extremely thorough, then it will all be for naught and any paper rejected outright. So, I ask you to be patient and understanding and realize that extreme scientific overkill is required in order to convince a world full of skeptical scientists. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof". This is what we are doing. When we started this, I thought we would be finished in a few weeks, but instead as Sasquatch are known to do, they threw us curve balls even with their DNA which can be as elusive as they are. Thank goodness we are past that! As a result, we have assembled a renowned team, each of us with our own specialties to make this project "extraordinary".

If everyone will hang in there, I promise it will be worth the wait. We have the proof, now just give us the opportunity to present it in a form that will even convince skeptics. Thanks so much for all of your emails and support. Best wishes to all.

Richard Stubstad is a Registered Civil Engineer and Statistician who graduated from U.C. Berkeley (MSCE) in 1969.Within a few months, Richard made contact with Adrian Erikson, Robert Schmalzbach (“Java Bob”), Shannon Sylvia and Dr. Melba Ketchum, among others, and initiated the mitochondrial sequencing of several purported sasquatch samples through Dr. Ketchum’s DNA diagnostics laboratory in Texas.

According to Mike Rugg, owner of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in the video below Richard Stubstad has begun his own independent Bigfoot DNA research.

Kemerovo Gov Offers 30K Reward for Finding Siberian Yeti

Leave it to the Wall Street Journal to report on the economy/financial side of Bigfoot news. The actual reward is 1 million rubles, which is roughly equal to over $31,000. Below, is a great article with a companion video embedded below.

We should mention that the Governor offers to have Tea with the Yeti. This is not the first time he has offered 1 million rubels and a tea party with the Yeti. The governor said the same thing last year in our post, "Tea party with the Yeti?"



And don't miss our previous Kemerovo Siberian Yeti coverage. We covered most of the main stream stuff, plus some exclusives to Bigfoot Lunch Club.

Bigfoot Hunters Detect Signs of the Hairy Beast in Siberia
Officials Host Conference, Offer Reward; 'We Need to Sit Down With Him, Drink Some Tea'

By ALAN CULLISON
October 25th 2011

TASHTAGOL, Russia—Stooping to the damp floor of a darkened cave, Anatoly Fokin picked some thin filaments from a muddy footprint. "I found some hair, some real hair," he said, pulling the strands apart. "And here there are more—maybe it was a girl."

Mr. Fokin crept further into the chill, followed by a horde of television crews and photographers. Cameras illuminated more footprints and a bed of dried brush in a recess of the cavern. "This is unusual and good evidence," said Mr. Fokin, who dropped his full-time work as an architect to spend more time on hunts like this one. "A Yeti has been here."

Throughout the world, lore persists about wild hairy creatures walking upright through woods. In the U.S. they are called Bigfoot and Sasquatch, in Russia the Snow Person and Forest Creature. Tibet spawned the names Yeti and Abominable Snowman.

Dismissed as myth by scientists, Yetis are mainly the province of enthusiasts, and in Russia they've gotten an unexpected boost from the government. Siberian officials this month sponsored nature lovers, scientists and foreigners who claim they have socialized with Bigfoots to attend an International Scientific-Practical Conference on Hominology.

Hominology, a still-unrecognized branch of biology that studies hairy upright walking creatures, is championed by a handful of Russian devotees who hope to spark a revolution in evolutionary theory by contacting one of the many tribes of Bigfoots they say are living undetected in woods around the world, including in North America and Russia.

With government help, that day may be drawing near. Siberian officials issued a press release saying the three-day event this month turned up "irrefutable evidence" that such a creature—known to locals as a Snow Person—has been squatting in a Kemerovo cave 2,000 miles east of Moscow. Field trips into the surrounding mountains also turned up what they said were telltale signs of Yeti wanderings, such as bent and twisted branches, and underbrush that served as a bed.

Local officials say they will now make efforts to contact the beast, who hasn't yet been photographed. They will also begin funding a permanent center for Bigfoot research at Siberia's Kemerovo State University.

Kemerovo Gov. Aman Tuleyev is offering a one million ruble, or about $31,500, reward to anyone who finds a Yeti, telling Russian television, "We need to sit down with him, drink some tea and talk about life." Russian heavyweight boxing champion Nikolai Valuyev, who at nearly 7 feet tall is known as the "Beast from the East," made a foray into the woods last month to look for the creature, but came out saying he only found broken branches and footprints.

Officials say they would also like to drum up some tourism for Kemerovo, a poverty-stricken region known more for its coal mine accidents than alpine beauty. But Vladimir Makuta, the top official of Tashtagol, says he is a genuine believer in "a kind of forest spirit" who has been aiding and undermining hunters in the woods.

The very existence of a Yeti is looked upon askance by mainstream scientists, who say all the upright-walking mammals have long ago been discovered and categorized.

They dismiss evidence compiled by Yeti hunters as a mass of unverified sightings, fuzzy photographs and film clips, and footprints that have been planted by hucksters.

Lately, Bigfoot sightings have been on the rise in the U.S. Once confined to the Pacific Northwest and Appalachia, today they have spread as far as Texas, Florida and New England, says Brian Regal, a Bigfoot debunker and assistant professor of history of science at Kean University in New Jersey.

"Meeting Bigfoot has become the encounter du jour," says Mr. Regal, a native of New Jersey. "You can't spit over here without someone saying there's a monster living in the woods."

That has also made Bigfoot searching a growing business, in the same way UFO-ology became a trade since the 1950s, Mr. Regal says. Today the Internet hosts a range of websites devoted to Bigfoot happenings, while tour guides offer excursions in search of the creature.

Russia's own Bigfoot industry has been a laggard. An early enthusiast was Soviet historian Boris Porshnev, who believed Bigfoots in Russia were a relict strain of leftover Neanderthals or cavemen.

With government funding, Mr. Porshnev launched a Soviet Snowperson Commission that after 1958 trudged through the Pamir Mountains of modern-day Tajikistan and the Caucasus region. The group turned up no snowmen, only alleged footprints whose outlines they cast in plaster.

"They were addicted to this subject in the 1950s and 1960s and blew through a whole program," says Oleg Pugachuyov, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Zoological Institute in St. Petersburg. "They never found any real evidence. It was a myth."

But former colleagues of the late Mr. Porshnev still hold a candle for him, along with a collection of plaster casts at the International Center of Hominology in Moscow. Igor Burtsev, the center's director, says that with government support he is hoping he can establish synergy with Yeti hunters in the U.S., whom he visited last year and who "are far ahead of Russia in research."

Mr. Burtsev has visited conferences and gone on hunts in the U.S., staying for a week in rural Michigan, where Robin Lynne, 48, says she has been feeding a family of Bigfoots outside her home for two years.

Hosted by the regional government, Ms. Lynne flew to Siberia for the conference this month, where a tour bus with police escort drove participants to a hunting lodge in the piney outback. There, Ms. Lynne described how the Bigfoots bang on her door, bring her sticks as presents and drink water from a bucket in the yard when the weather is warm. "They love the bucket," she told the group.

Also attending was Jeff Meldrum, an associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University.

Mr. Meldrum, who believes Bigfoot may exist, says he favors a "scientific approach" to the subject.

During the trip to the cave, he worried that the footprints they found were only for a right foot, none from a left. They also seemed to be stamped too perfectly, he said.

"I'd like to see progress," he said. "But some of this makes me suspicious."

SRC: The Wall Street Journal, page A1

Finally! A Journalist Does Real Research on Tom Biscardi

Before we praise Paul Gackle of The San Francisco Examiner for doing real journalism. We have to give Tom Biscardi accolades and credit. No one can write a press release like Tom Biscardi. Tom Biscardi must be the William Shakespeare of press releases. How else do you explain the newest coverage of his BBC expedition. How can a man claim to have a bigfoot body twice (once in 2005 on Coast-to-Caost AM and then again on CNN in 2008), fail to produce evidence, and then continue to get legitimate news coverage? In all fairness during both cases he claims he was hoodwinked. He was the victim of a hoax.

We asked a similar question in a previous post titled, "Why Don't Journalist Just Google Todd Standing?"

In that post we displayed what Google users think of Todd Standing--or at least what they type when searching for Todd. We showcased Google's well-known feature called "Google Suggest" or "Auto Complete". Start typing in a search, and Google offers suggestions before you’ve even finished typing.

Here are Todd's results (The second suggestion includes the word Hoax):


What are the results for respectable bigfoot researchers?





Now, for Tom Biscardi: (Similar to Todd, the second suggestion is Hoax)



This brings us to a refreshing article by Paul Gackle of The San Francisco Examiner. Mr. Gackle seem to have done more than reprint the press release, he actually respectively asked other bigfoot researchers what Biscardi's story is.

Redwood City Bigfoot hunter hopes to make giant capture
By: Paul Gackle | 10/08/11 4:00 PM
Special To The Examiner

True believer: Tom Biscardi says he’s come close to catching Bigfoot.
If Redwood City native Tom Biscardi is right, one of the world’s most baffling mysteries is about to be solved.

For decades, scientists, adventurers and monster hunters have explored the furthest reaches of North American wildlands in search of undeniable evidence that a species of gigantic, bipedal apelike creatures — known as Bigfoot — exist. Recently, Biscardi launched an expedition being filmed by English documentarians for BBC that he claims will finally put the Bigfoot mystery to rest.

“We’re going out there for a possible capture,” Biscardi said. “I really think this is going to be it.”

Biscardi hopes to finally silence his critics during an expedition that will focus on Arkansas, Florida, West Virginia and Illinois, where Bigfoot-related activity has recently been reported.

But others working to solve the Bigfoot mystery think Biscardi’s latest hunt is just another gimmick.

“It always ends up being nothing,” said Diane Stocking, who has researched Bigfoot sightings for almost four decades and created Stocking Hominid Research Inc. in Oregon. “To the Bigfoot community, he’s a joke. No one takes him seriously.”

In the past 40 years, Biscardi said he’s encountered Bigfoot six times. But while capture has eluded him, the infamous monster hunter, who moonlights as a Las Vegas promoter, has managed to turn Bigfoot into a thriving commercial industry.

Over the years, the founder of Searching for Bigfoot Inc. has produced four documentaries while hosting the weekly radio show “Bigfoot Live” on his website, www.searchingforbigfoot.com, where he sells caps, T-shirts, mugs and doormats, among other creature items.

“You bet I’m in it for the money. I don’t work for free,” Biscardi said.

This isn’t the first time Biscardi has been accused of plotting a hoax. In 2005, he went on the radio show “Coast to Coast AM” claiming he knew the location of a captured Bigfoot close to the Oregon border and would air footage online via webcam for a small fee. But on the day footage was slated to be released, he said he’d been “hoodwinked” by a woman in Nevada.

Then in 2008, Biscardi held a news conference in Palo Alto with two Georgia men who claimed they were holding a Bigfoot carcass in their freezer. Biscardi confirmed the creature’s authenticity, saying he had measured its feet and touched its intestines. But soon after, the Georgia men admitted the pictures were nothing more than a Halloween costume stuffed with animal parts.

British director Morgan Matthews said his documentary, tentatively titled “Of Monsters and Men,” will be a portrait of several men like Biscardi, who devote their lives to chasing mysterious creatures.

“I think Tom has something to prove and that makes it interesting for us,” Matthews said.

“When you’re on top of the mountain, they all want to knock you down,” Biscardi said. “Hopefully this will be the time we put an end to this thing.”

Close encounters

Bigfoot buff Tom Biscardi says he’s had several run-ins with Bigfoot, and he is launch an expedition in hopes of finally capturing the mythological beast.

FIRST ENCOUNTER
WHEN: Late 1960s
WHERE: Near Spokane, Wash.
QUOTE: “I was shocked. I said to myself, ‘What the hell is that?’”

SECOND ENCOUNTER
WHEN: October 1971
WHERE: Near Mount Burney
QUOTE: “It looked at us and had juice from eating chokecherries all over its mouth.”

THIRD ENCOUNTER
WHEN: April 1973
WHERE: Beaver Lake
QUOTE: “It was bathing itself in the water.”

FOURTH ENCOUNTER
WHEN: October 1977
WHERE: Near Mount Lassen
QUOTE: “It was an albino — pure white. It blew me away; he looked like a stuffed animal.”

FIFTH ENCOUNTER
WHEN: July 2006
WHERE: Deer River, Minn.
QUOTE: “We were pretty damn close to catching him. They move faster than lightning.”

SIXTH ENCOUNTER
WHEN: June 2008
WHERE: Lamar Point, Texas
QUOTE: “We tried to jump on it, but it moved too quick.”

SRC: The San Francisco Examiner

Adrian Erickson gets Local Press Part 2

You can read our previous coverage on the Erickson Project. If your new to the subject, the Erickson Project is one of the most anticipated Sasquatch endeavors since it's inception six years ago.

On the Erickson Project's website They are self-described as, "...actively researching sasquatch at various study sites in North America. The goal of Adrian Erickson and his team is to have the collected evidence validated by science and the sasquatch officially recognized as a species or sub-species."

Below is Part Two of a two-part feature about The Erickson Project published by Maple Ridge News

Click here for Part 1 of Is It Out There?

Adrian Erickson points to a footprint
possibly left by a sasquatch in gravel.

IS BIGFOOT OUT THERE? PART 2
By Monisha Martins - Maple Ridge News
Published: August 16, 2011 4:00 PM
Updated: August 16, 2011 4:08 PM

In a Texas lab, blood, saliva, hair and flesh from what’s believe to sasquatch are being analyzed and sequenced for a genetic blueprint.

For now though, what Dr. Melba Ketchum has learned about the animal is a secret.

“As an ethical scientist” Dr. Ketchum won’t comment on any of sasquatch DNA testing or her findings until her research has been submitted to a journal and has passed a confidential peer review by experts in the field.

Ketchum’s company DNA Diagnostic Inc. specializes in multi-species testing including human as well as animal DNA analysis for individuals, law enforcement, breed associations and state regulatory agencies. It usually runs tests for pet owners pining to find out whether bones discovered in the woods behind their homes belong to beloved Fluffy or Fido who met their demise in the jaws of a coyote.

Ketchum stresses the DNA testing is being done independently of the Erickson Project, the first multi-site field study of the sasquatch in Canada and the U.S. with the goal to have it recognized as a species.

“The peer review is essential to protect the integrity of a study by independently verifying the scientific analysis and conclusions in order to minimize people claiming this research as another bigfoot hoax or fraud,” said Ketchum.

She hopes to have the peer review complete and results ready for release by the end of the year.

To prevent people with “some limited knowledge of the ongoing DNA testing from trying to make premature disclosures or claim unfounded credit,” everyone associated with the research is under a legally binding non-disclosure agreement that includes Adrian Erickson, the man who filmed what he believes are sasquatch in Maple Ridge and other research sites in the U.S.

But getting a new species recognized isn’t an easy task.

Since 2000, there have been many new species “described” but none “discovered” by science.

Most of these were species initially thought to be the same, but which are now split into two groups.

For example, a sloth thought to be a normal three-toed sloth was found to be a separate species after DNA analysis, explains Arne Mooers, a professor of biology at Simon Fraser University.

In terms of real discoveries, the most recent large mammal stumbled upon was the Pseudoryx nghetinhensis or Saola, a bovid (ox) found in Laos and Vietnam in 1992.

Another large mammal – Balaenoptera omurai, a whale which range from 8 to 28 metres, was formally described in 2003.

Mooers finds it hard to believe a bipedal primate has been in North America’s forests and mountains for centuries.

It is too big, he says, pointing out that many of these sasquatch hideouts happen to be rather close to urban areas and suburban subdivisions – but have yet to cough up skulls or bones.

North America would also be the last place he’d consider exploring for a new species of primate.

“The only primate that lives outside the tropical region is us,” says Mooers.

“There’s a macaque that lives in southern Japan but all other primates lives in equatorial or sub-equatorial regions.”

But if someone drove out of the mountains with a dead sasquatch strapped to the hood of their car, it would change his mind.

“Never say never,” he says.

•••

John Bindernagel is one of the few biologists in the world who readily admits the sasquatch is an extant or “real” animal.

Based in Courtney on Vancouver Island, he is more concerned with addressing ecological questions such as how it over-winters in the colder regions of North America and its range.

The best proof for Bindernagel are the tracks left behind by sasquatch, especially when those foot prints which have been cast in plaster.

Other evidence lies in sightings.

“I’ve just heard so many sincere, eyewitness accounts,” says Bindernagel, who has written two books on the subject.

“These people do not want to tell me their reports. You almost have to drag it out of them.”

Hoaxes are a big reason why scientists steer clear of sasquatch. Bindernagel believes referring to sasquatch as “Bigfoot” doesn’t help either. “We need to convince them to look at the evidence which is what they’ve been unwilling to do so far,” he said.

“Many discoveries have taken sometimes a century to be fully accepted. It’s exactly what we are dealing with here. It’s a de facto discovery – a discovery made in fact but simply not recognized by the larger scientific community.”



•••

Tales about sasquatch roaming Golden Ears Provincial Park and thwarting bear-proof bins to snack on garbage amuse Stu Burgess.

As park manager, he’s responsible for the “front country” – an area one kilometre from the park’s main road that includes horse trails and campsites. He’s yet to catch sight of any ape-man or – for that matter – odd-looking, seven-foot tall bears with the gait of super models.

“I’ve been working up here for 17 years and in that time, I’ve seen two cougars,” he says with a laugh.

The Erickson Project intends to release their documentary Sasquatch: The Quest in conjunction with the DNA test results.

SRC: Martins, Monisha. "Is the sasquatch out there?Part 2." Maple Bridge News. Ed. Michael Hall. 2011. 18 Aug. 2011 <http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/mapleridgenews/news/127905518.html>.

Adrian Erickson gets Local Press Part 1

You can read our previous coverage on the Erickson Project. If your new to the subject, the Erickson Project is one of the most anticipated Sasquatch endeavors since it's inception six years ago.

On the Erickson Project's website They are self-described as, "...actively researching sasquatch at various study sites in North America. The goal of Adrian Erickson and his team is to have the collected evidence validated by science and the sasquatch officially recognized as a species or sub-species."

Below is Part One of a two-part feature about The Erickson Project published by Maple Ridge News

Adrian Erickson has filmed what he says
are sasquatch in Golden Ears Provincial Park.

IS BIGFOOT OUT THERE? PART 1

By Monisha Martins - Maple Ridge News
Published: August 12, 2011 8:00 AM
Updated: August 16, 2011 4:07 PM

From a thicket of hemlock, a rock fell at Jason’s Erickson feet with a thud.

It was followed by a second volley, a scattering of tiny pebbles, bound to get his attention. From the trees that crowded at the base of a rocky slope, he heard a purr, a bass, vibrating sound, he was sure didn’t come from a cougar or bear.

“I’ve grown up in the bush and it’s definitely something different.”

Stretching from the edge of Maple Ridge to the rugged reaches of Mount Blanshard, Golden Ears Provincial Park is 62,540 hectares of second-growth forest, home to beaver, deer, black bear, and mountain goat.

But lurking in the red cedar and moss-covered Douglas fir is where a legend comes to life. Sasquatch – the gigantic hirsute beast that figures in First Nation mythology, the comical Kokanee beer mascot – has been barking at Jason, tossing pebbles at him, banging on trees.

He hasn’t seen one.

“But I believe they are real.”

•••

Jason’s dad Adrian Erickson is your stereotypical outdoorsman, tall and rugged with weathered skin. He grew up on a small farm in northern Alberta, hunting and trapping with his father at an young age to help supplement their meager income.

He saw his first sasquatch at age seven, shrugging off the encounter as something normal, just another beast in the forest, as nothing odd.

By the age of 16, while still in high school, Erickson was guiding American moose hunters and after graduation expanded his guiding and outfitting business into reclamation work for the oil and gas industry.

At 26, Erickson put down his gun and switched to a bow. He’s comfortable trekking into the wild, spending days camped far from civilization, alone, braving all kinds of weather. In 2001, not far from Jasper, Alta., a sasquatch, quite literally, crossed his path.

He admits he initially dismissed it as a cow moose. But he couldn’t avoid the nagging, gnawing notion that the lumbering, hairy brown creature he had seen was no ungulate.

He had to find out more.

•••

Founded in 1995, the Big Foot Field Research Organization bills itself as “the only scientific research organization exploring the bigfoot/sasquatch mystery.”

It is a virtual community of scientists, journalists, volunteers and the curious who maintain a database of sightings and research.

When Erickson googled “sasquatch” a decade ago, the BFRO was like an easily accessed encyclopedia.

“I realized how much evidence there was out there,” says Erickson.

He devoured the BFRO’s compilations of eye witness reports from across the continent, the Patterson footage and research done by retired B.C. journalist John Green.

Soon, Erickson signed up as a researcher and began to interview people in the U.S. and Canada who claimed to have seen a sasquatch.

These were people who were dismissed as kooks, ridiculed, folks who has lost their jobs after revealing they believed in a beast that shared the same plane as fairies and the Loch Ness monster.

It made Erickson wonder: why is the sasquatch shunned by science?

“If scientists put 10 per cent of the effort into proving this exists, rather than trying to prove it didn’t exist, this would have been recognized decades ago as a species,” says Erickson.

By 2005, Erickson had talked to hundreds of witnesses who were relieved to speak about sasquatches to someone who took them seriously – who had seen them himself.

Tired of the wayward stares and sneers, he started the Erickson Project that year, the first multi-site field study of the sasquatch in Canada and the U.S. with the goal to have it recognized as a species.

“It is to vindicate the thousands of people who have been ridiculed,” says Erickson, who has been juggling a quest for the sasquatch while he develops acreages in Osoyoos, with his two sons, Jason and Ryan.

•••

The term “sasquatch” is an anglicized derivative of the word “Sésquac”, meaning “wild man” in Halkomelem, the language of Coast Salish aboriginals of the Fraser Valley and parts of Vancouver Island.

Aboriginal tribes across North America have more than 60 different terms for the sasquatch.

And “big foot” isn’t just a North American legend.

Yeti and Meh-Teh, the Abominable Snowman, is said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, India and Tibet. The mapinguari or Inashi is a giant sloth-like creature that features in legends throughout the Amazon, while Yowies are the ape-men of the Australian Outback.

Big foot researchers pledge to study the species in ways that will not harm them.

It’s why Erickson won’t tranquilize the creatures. To kill them, he says, would be akin to murder.

Erickson says he has seen the sasquatch with his own eyes.

So armed with cameras, in 2005, the Erickson Project began its quest to document the sasquatch, capturing what is purported to be the only other footage of the creature since the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film.

Most scientists believe the Patterson film is a hoax with a man in an ape suit, but some people, including Erickson, insist it’s a creature unknown to science.

The creature in the Patterson film resembles the sasquatch he’s seen, says Erickson. They have well-defined muscular physiques, long arms and walk like runway models.

Erickson and his Reel Productions team say they filmed the sasquatch in Maple Ridge and in U.S. locations. They didn’t just film one – but several. They caught them sleeping, peering through trees and via thermal images. In his film, you can hear the sasquatch make low guttural sounds, the kind that make your hair stand on edge. The creatures are in a variety of colours – grey, brown and an orangutan orange.

The location in Golden Ears Provincial Park was ideal because it had been hiked for more than a decade by the man who reported the sightings to Erickson. The sasquatch were not afraid to interact with the man, growing more familiar with him as he returned to the area.

Erickson filmed at the location for two years and collected hair samples from what he says is a grey, light-coloured sasquatch.

“You whistle and they whistle back. They won’t interact with strangers,” he explains.

Not all encounters are visual. The sasquatch like to chuck rocks at you. They are skittish.

“We don’t know why they pick certain people to show themselves to,” says Erickson.

•••

Although Erickson captured sasquatch several times in clear, crisp images, he soon realized people would still dismiss his video as a hoax.

“The more evidence we got, scientists started backing away further and we got really tired,” he says.

“We realized DNA was the only thing.”

He hired Dr. Leila Hadj-Chikh, a biologist, who has a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology, from Princeton University, along with Dennis Pfohl who set out to collect blood, saliva, hair and skin samples.

A resident of Colorado, Pfohl, is an avid outdoorsman who had some strange encounters while camping in the backcountry.

Married with four children, he has spent the past six years hunting sasquatch with a camera and baiting them with food for samples of their DNA. The Erickson Project picked sites in Maple Ridge, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama where they knew they could get close to the creatures.

Pfohl says the reports from those locations were credible and the sasquatch were known to return to the areas, especially to snack on human food.

Much like bears, it seems the sasquatch have a taste for garbage and sweet things. Pfohl spent six months of the year visiting the research sites, trying to perfect his techniques.

He’s missed birthdays, many Christmases, his son’s graduation.

“Cumulatively it takes thousands of hours to collect the DNA,” he says.

“I have spent days in tree stands, on the ground, in tall weeds, with ticks, rain, snow, hell.”

Pfohl’s baited the sasquatch with dog food but finds cakes and candy – Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Susie Qs – are what they like best.

He’d leave them at the site for two or three days and is confident it was sasquatch that took the snacks rather than a raccoon or bear.

He also figured pancakes were an inexpensive and quick-to-create bait.

When he didn’t have time to cook pancakes, he’d drive to a local McDonalds and buy a stack. Sasquatch like them smothered in syrup. “I often think I’m leading to their early death by cardio vascular disease. Or the poor things will end up with tooth decay because of all the sweets,” he says with a laugh.

Pfohl sees himself as someone on a mission to find answers.

“A lot of scientists won’t risk their reputations or careers on this,” he says.

“The discovery of a species – a bipedal hominid – that is the greatest discovery of modern day man.

“How could they live all these years and we didn’t know they were there?

“The fact is people do see them. Hunters talk about them all the time but no one acknowledges it. People think I’m nuts.”

SRC: Martins, Monisha. "Is the sasquatch out there? Part 1." Maple Bridge News. Ed. Michael Hall. 2011. 18 Aug. 2011 <http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/mapleridgenews/news/127560548.html>.

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