Things I Learned From “Becoming Human,” part 1

This three-part series, Becoming Human, on PBS’s Nova covers new theories about how and why we evolved into human beings and is well worth watching. You can watch all of the episodes here, as well as view several interesting mini-programs about related topics. Some of the ideas being offered in Becoming Human are fairly new and have a lot of bearing on how we differ from the other great apes and by inference how we might compare to Bigfoot. I’ll cover the major ideas in each of the three episodes and wrap it all up in the final and third installment.

1) Climate change made us human. At one time, it was thought going from knuckle-walking to bipedalism is what triggered the growth of our brains. But there were bipedal apes staggering around Africa for 4 million years before there was a growth spurt in the brains department 2 million years ago, and then it was a upwards growth from then on. Scientists have now linked it to a long period of climate change in the Africa Rift Valley, where the climate swung back and forth between extreme drought and desertification to extreme rainy periods. This went on for a long time and the most successful bipedal apes were the ones that could adapt the easiest to the extreme changes in climate. The ones that could do this were the ones with bigger brains. They could think better with a bigger brain. The longer the climates changes continued, the bigger our brains got. So bigger brains enabled apes to adapt to their changing surroundings and to eventually adapt their surroundings to themselves—big brains, big advantage, big deal.

San Antonio Sasquatch and Body Shop Bigfoot are not alike

UPDATE! Cryptomundo reveals this odd coincidence! The founder of the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research(SFBR) was none other than Tom Slick!

From Wikipedia:

During the 1950s, Slick was an adventurer. He turned his attention to expeditions to investigate the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti, Bigfoot and the Trinity Alps giant salamander. Slick’s interest in cryptozoology was little known until the 1989 publication of the biography Tom Slick and the Search for Yeti, by Loren Coleman.

As you can see in the map below the SFBR is nearby all the San Antonio Sasquatch action and dispatched two representatives immediately to investigate the mysterious primate at the Body Shop.


We just want to be fair. The sightings based on the San Antonio Police report have been loosely tied to a primate spotted at a body shop. The Body Shop "Bigfoot" should not be related to the San Antonio Sasquatch sightings. Why? Because based upon further research we have discovered the primate at the body shop was identified. Using a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the guys at the shop were able to lure the primate and videotape it. Katie Birk of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation center was able to study the video and quickly identify the macaque.

There is one thing bigfooters can gain from this. We have learned that a PB & J sandwich is an effective lure to attract primates (like Bigfoot), although I would recommend leaving a cold glass a milk to wash it down. Be kind to the big guy.



Above is the footprint the macaque had left, which also help identify the three foot primate. Below is an exerpt from the article and interview from www.mysanantonio.com:

“We didn't know what to think,” Joe Duarte said.

But he did wonder if the animal could have escaped from the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, which keeps baboons on hand and is located just north of the shop at Loop 410 and Texas 151.

The two immediately called the foundation. Adrian Duarte, the shop's manager, said that a few hours later, two individuals showed up to inspect the prints. He said the men told them they resembled a baboon's print.

Foundation officials said Wednesday they don't know what it is but they do know it's not theirs.

Ty May, a veterinary resource manager at the foundation who's familiar with the incident, said it's not conclusive that the prints found at the business were from any type of primate. May said the research center was “not missing any animals and have not confirmed a sighting of any kind.” Worried about what kind of animal might be foraging from their trash bin, the Duartes set up a video camera to get a better look at the animal.

“I'm cautious to walk over there,” Adrian Duarte said. “I mean, I want to see him, but then again I don't. Those animals can be dangerous.”

Still, they left food on top of the trash bin, including a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, to try and lure the animal out.

The dimly lit and fuzzy footage shows some type of animal climb atop the bin, grab the sandwich and jump back down — all in a fluid motion. But the video camera is too far back, making it hard to clearly make out any of the animal's features.

So the guys at the body shop called the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation center in Kendalia for a second opinion. On Wednesday, Katie Birk, an animal caretaker at the rescue, went to the shop to see the video.

Her initial reaction was a large smile and a laugh.

“You got a little monkey friend on your hands,” Birk said chuckling. She said the creature was “agile” and it's movements resembled an animal “not native to the area.”

The Duartes showed Birk the evidence they had collected, including the prints and tufts of hair. Birk guessed the animal could be a macaque, a primate mostly located in Asia.

Although a macaque isn't as aggressive as a baboon, Birk said that if anyone comes across the monkey, they should walk away, go inside somewhere and wait for it to go away.

You can read the full article here.

Now that we got that out of the way, what did that woman see near Loop 1604 and Texas 151 Monday night?

Tracks Found near San Antonio Bigfoot Site

If you have not read our previous post regarding the San Antonio Bigfoot start here




Now News 4 WOAI is reporting Tracks found at the San Antonio Bigfoot site. Rick Tullos, who is a member of the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization is the Bigfoot researcher on scene. He was the one who discovered the tracks, he said he will have to analyze the tracks and, hopefully, find more evidence of what may have been in the woods.

You can click to expand the full post below to read the News 4 WOAI report or visit the site yourself here.




SAN ANTONIO -- Experts are now investigating reported sightings of a large, hairy, 'Bigfoot-type' creature on the West Side.

Police said the 'Bigfoot-type' creature was spotted in the area around Highway 151 and Loop 1604. A caller told police a large, tall, hairy creature dragged a deer carcass into the woods. Officers searched the area, but said they did not find anything.

"If one sighting is real, then that means something is out there," said Rick Tullos, who is a member of the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization.

Tullos has traveled around the country to investigate sightings and is now checking out the latest report in the San Antonio area.

"We look for an area where the fence has been bent down," Tullos explained. "Or maybe evidence of some hairs caught in some of the barbs of the fence."

News 4 WOAI's crew looked around the area with Tullos and didn't find anything at first. But a short time later, a set of tracks was spotted that Tullos said did not look like those that would be made by a human.

Tullos said he will have to analyze the tracks and, hopefully, find more evidence of what may have been in the woods.

Tullos told News WOAI there have been a handful of sightings on the Far West Side, including out near Lackland Air Force Base and in other wooded areas near Highway 151 several years back.