Ghost Hunting Theories: Patterson-Gimlin Revisited

The now-famous Patterson/Gimlin Film (PGF) is etched into the psyche of american pop-culture. It probably universally recognizable. In Bigfooting circles it is somewhat a sacred cow. Opinions we have heard in private would never be shared publicly; from those who support or dispute the film.

Fortunately, for us, we are not in the business of proving Bigfoot, or proving the value or authenticity of Bigfoot evidence. Not often anyway. Mostly we want to learn as much as we can by sharing all things Sasquatch and hopefully like cosmologist do with the universe, we can build a better "model" of Bigfoot until we discover the big guy.

So we need to hear from all voices, yesterday we posted opinions from a palaeozoologist, today I am proud to say we are sharing the opinions of a Ghost Hunter and pshycic. If you have never visited Ghost Hunting Theories you are missing out. Even how she tackles PGF, is a delight:

This film is definitely polarizing.

One thing I talk about extensively in my upcoming book “Was That a Ghost?” is taking the context into account when looking at your encounter; taking into consideration your belief system and your explanatory style when evaluating an encounter. I am going to try to do the same here with the film.

Belief: I do believe in Bigfoot, not sure if I believe in the film (partially objective)

Context: I will review the context in which the film was taken (below).

Explanatory style: In comparing the pros and cons, I will try not to interject any belief system and keep myself objective (below).

The truth is, we must judge on just this case and not anything else. You might believe in ghosts, but each hunting case has to be handled very objectively. You know you believe in ghosts, but that does not have to mean that everything that happens is ghostly. Same here. I believe in BF and that will remain whether or not this film proves to me to be authentic.

This film, in other words, will not be the only thing that makes or breaks my belief.

I thought I should step away from a strange gut feeling that it's authentic when my head says it can't be. I figured I'd break down what bugs me about the film and what intrigues me about it and play “good guy/bad guy” with it. Read the rest of Patterson-Gimlin Revisited. It is thorough and refreshing.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Patterson-Gimlin Revisited
Bigfoot: My Furry-Butted Relative

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Encounters with Gigantic Orangutans

We have been negligent in our postings about primatology and feel bad. We decided to bring you the story of the Gigantic Orangutans of Borneo.

At Tetrapod Zoology (hardcore fans, like us, call it Tet Zoo for short), Darren Naish is profiled as "a science writer, technical editor and palaeozoologist (affiliated with the University of Portsmouth, UK) who mostly works on Cretaceous dinosaurs and pterosaurs."

He writes great articles that sometimes border into the realm of Cryptozoology while maintaining the rigor of science. Without further ado, please read the excerpt below and follow the link to Encounters with Gigantic Orangutans.

Over the past couple of months I've been reading John MacKinnon's In Search of the Red Ape (Collins, 1974) - one of the first books anyone reads whenever they want to learn about orangutans. The book is stuffed full of anecdotes and other natural history tales about Borneo and Sumatra, and it seems that MacKinnon (who, these days, is best known for his association with the discovery of the Saola Pseudoryx nghetinensis in Vietnam (MacKinnon 2000, Van Dung et al. 1993, 1994)) encountered just about every creature you could hope to encounter in the tropical jungles of the region... yes, even the enigmatic orang-pendek (or its tracks, at least).

Anyway, one particular section of the book really stands out for me: the bit where MacKinnon catches sight of a gigantic, terrestrially walking male orangutan...

I was nearly home when I saw a terrifying spectacle. For a moment I thought it was a trick of my vision. A huge, black orang-utan was walking along the path towards me. I had never seen such a large animal even in a zoo. He must have weighed every bit of three hundred pounds. Hoping that he had not noticed me, I dived behind a large tree. I was in no state to defend myself, or run from him should he come for me, and I could recall clearly the natives' terrible stories about old, ground-living orangs. I held my breath as the monster passed within a few feet of me and let him get about forty yards ahead before I followed in pursuit. He was enormous, as black as a gorilla but with his back almost bare of hair; Ivan the Terrible was the only name I could think of. (MacKinnon 1974, p. 54)

We guarantee you will love reading the rest at Tetrapod Zoology

EXTERNAL LINKS
SRC:Tetrapod Zoology
Tet Zoo: Chimpanzees make and use spears
Tet Zoo:Bipedal Orangs
"What to Make of Yowies?" by Darren Naish at Science Blogs

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Moneymaker and Barackman in Animal Planet Bigfoot Series

This is the first article about the Animal Planet event in North Carolina that seems to be written from the researchers perspective. Matt Moneymaker and Cliff Barackman are quoted regarding the methodology and evidence found.

"We're going to do an evidence search in a grid," he said. "We doubt you're going to run across Bigfoot out there, but we are going to be looking for some evidence. There's been a lot of sightings in the Uwharrie National Forest. --Matt Moneymaker"

"A lot of people would see this as the front part and back part of the foot, but I think we're looking at a quadripedal animal here," Barackman said. "I think this is probably a deer. --Cliff Barackman"

The Full Article is Below:

Volunteers scour forest for Bigfoot
Some search for fun, others for some evidence

By Marina Richardson -
ALBEMARLE, N.C. -- Around 300 people gathered last weekend at the Eldorado Outpost in Montgomery County on what many might call a fool's errand - a search for Bigfoot.
The expedition into the Uwharrie National Forest to hunt for the elusive creature was led by longtime Bigfoot researcher Michael Greene, Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization leader Matt Moneymaker and a team from the cable and satellite TV channel Animal Planet.

"This is about the crowd I expected," Greene said. "We're going to assemble out there and spread out as a group."

Wally Hersom of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization holds a Bigfoot cast made from a footprint in Walla Walla, Wash. The group led a search in North Carolina last weekend.

While most members of the crowd had shown up to volunteer for the search, a number of individuals were caught up in the search by accident.

Brandon Tysinger and Joey Boslet from Calabash and Scott McKinney from the Myrtle Beach area were camping in the Uwharries and heard unexplained sounds outside their tent Friday night. They thought it was strange, but did not connect it with Bigfoot until they found out about the search on Saturday, they said.

"We pulled up at the gas station, and all of a sudden, we're looking for Bigfoot," Tysinger said. "We want to know what in the world it was in the woods last night, so we thought we'd go, too."

"We just kind of showed up," McKinney said.

Others in the crowd showed up for entertainment or to confirm their belief or disbelief in the legendary creature.

"I'm here for the fun of it," said Brittney Huneycutt of Albemarle. "This is a once in a lifetime thing."

"I'm very skeptical," Adam Loflin, of Norwood, said. "I'm leaning toward the fact that he's not out there."

Before the search began, Moneymaker addressed the group gathered at the outpost.

"We're going to do an evidence search in a grid," he said. "We doubt you're going to run across Bigfoot out there, but we are going to be looking for some evidence. There's been a lot of sightings in the Uwharrie National Forest."

The researchers, film crew and volunteers left the outpost at around 3:15 p.m. and walked approximately a quarter of a mile down the road to a field at the edge of the forest, where Moneymaker gave further instructions. He encouraged the volunteers to look for signs of Bigfoot, such as footprints, hair samples, broken tree branches and stick structures.

James Ackerman, of the Badin area, discovered tracks by a shallow creek that looked almost human.

"I was just jumping over the creek, and as soon as I jumped, I saw a footprint, and I yelled, 'Footprint,'" Ackerman said.

Animal Planet researcher Cliff Barackman was called in to look at the footprint.

"A lot of people would see this as the front part and back part of the foot, but I think we're looking at a quadripedal animal here," Barackman said. "I think this is probably a deer."

When Moneymaker arrived on the scene, he disagreed and said that it was possible that the prints were made by something else.

A little further down the stream, a deer carcass was found. The researchers gathered around the carcass discovered gnaw marks on the bones.

According to Barackman and Moneymaker, deer is Bigfoot's main source of food.

"That's exactly what a deer kill looks like," Moneymaker said of the carcass.

"A Sasquatch [Bigfoot] will grab the front leg and break it. The break has a particular look to it, and that's exactly what I saw there."

In the end, Bigfoot didn't make an appearance, but the show goes on. In this case, the six-part Animal Planet series is planned to air in the fall.


Read more: http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/02/20/1992795/volunteers-scour-forest-for-bigfoot.html#ixzz1ETu2f7E0

EXTERNAL LINKS
Sun News Original Article
Matt Moneymakers BFRO.NET
Cliff Barackman's North American Bigfoot

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