Jane Goodall Still Finds Bigfoot Fascinating

British primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall

To bigfooters, it is no secret that Dr. Jane Goodall has shared her certainty that Bigfoot exist. celebrity Joe Rogan credits Goodall for his interest in Bigfoot. Sometimes she has been more careful about her certainty, like a recent Huffington Post article:

"I'm not going to flat-out deny its existence," Goodall said during an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post before a benefit dinner in La Jolla, Calif. "I'm fascinated and would actually love them to exist. 

 In the past she has been more explicit in a 2002  interview with Ira Flatow:

"Well now, you'll be amazed when I tell you that I'm sure that they exist."

She has even written a great review for Dr. Jeff Meldrum's book, "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science:

"Jeff Meldrum's book 'Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science' brings a much needed level of scientific analysis to the Sasquatch - or Bigfoot - debate. Does Sasquatch exist? There are countless people - especially indigenous people - in different parts of America who claim to have seen such a creature. And in many parts of the world I meet those who, in a matter-of-fact way, tell me of their encounters with large, bipedal, tail-less hominids. I think I have read every article and every book about these creatures, and while most scientists are not satisfied with existing evidence, I have an open mind."
--Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE UN Messenger of Peace & Founder - the Jane Goodall Institute

Watch the HuffPo video interview below and right below that listen to the 2002 Ira Flatow interview; it is one of the first times when Goodall has gone on record publicly with her interest in Bigfoot.







The following is a transcript of the relevant portion of the program:

Dr. Goodall: As for the other, you're talking about a yeti or bigfoot or sasquatch.

Ira Flatow: Is that what he's talking about?

Dr. Goodall: Yes, it is and ...

Ira Flatow: Is that the message I'm missing here?

Dr. Goodall: I think that's the message you're missing and ...

Ira Flatow: (To the caller) Is that right?

Caller: Pretty much.

Ira Flatow: (Laughing) I'm out of the loop. Go ahead.

Dr. Goodall: Well now, you'll be amazed when I tell you that I'm sure that they exist.

Ira Flatow: You are?

Dr. Goodall: Yeah. I've talked to so many Native Americans who all describe the same sounds, two who have seen them. I've probably got about, oh, thirty books that have come from different parts of the world, from China from, from all over the place, and there was a little tiny snippet in the newspaper just last week which says that British scientists have found what they believed to be a yeti hair and that the scientists in the Natural History Museum in London couldn't identify it as any known animal.

Ira Flatow: Wow.

Dr. Goodall: That was just a wee bit in the newspaper and, obviously, we have to hear a little bit more about that.

Ira Flatow: Well, in this age of DNA, if you find a hair there might be some cells on it.

Dr. Goodall: Well, there will be and I'm sure that's what they've examined and they don't match up. That's what my little tiny snippet says. They don't match up with DNA cells from known animals, so -- apes.

Ira Flatow: Did you always have this belief that there., that they, that they existed?

Dr. Goodall: Well, I'm a romantic, so I always wanted them to exist. (Chuckles.)

Ira Flatow: (To the caller) Alright?

Caller: Thank you.

Ira Flatow: Thanks for calling. (To Goodall) Well, how do you go looking for them? I mean, people have been looking, right? It's not like, or has this just been, since we don't really believe they can exist, we really haven't really made a serious search.

Dr. Goodall: Well, there are people looking. There are very ardent groups in Russia, and they have published a whole lot of stuff about what they've seen. Of course, the big, the big criticism of all this is, "Where is the body?" You know, why isn't there a body? I can't answer that, and maybe they don't exist, but I want them to.

Who is Derek Randles?

Derek Randles of Ridgwalkers Unlimited and The Olympic Project

Derek Randles has been looking for Sasquatch since the mid 80's. In September 2000, he was a principle investigator in the Skookum Cast. The Skookum Cast is named after the Skookum Meadows area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It is believed to be a cast made from a full body print of a Sasquatch laying on it's side and reaching for an apple that was left out the night before. 

Illustration based on the imprint of the Skookum Cast

Derek Randles was also part of the Dr. Jeff Meldrum's North American Ape Project. The North American Ape Project is a grant-funded multi-year sasquatch research project directed by professor Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University. According to a university announcement, "The North American Ape Project (NAAP) seeks to detect and collect evidence through support from the Mayfield Foundation. This will be undertaken primarily by means of hair snags monitored by camera traps. In addition, fieldworkers will record vocalizations, document tracks and sample associated scat. Habitats will be analyzed for availability and distribution of food resources.

According to the Acknowledgments section of Meldrum's book "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science" (2006), participating members of the North American Ape Project included Ron Brown, LeRoy Fish, Derek Randles, John Pickering, Rick Noll, Owen Caddy, Brian Smith, John Mionczynski, and Julie Davis.

Derek was also one of the first investigators to interview the two bear hunters involved with the Sierra Kills and has been instrumental in getting specimens from the possible killing Dr. Melba Ketchuim's DNA study. It is important to note that Derek Randles does not condone killing Bigfoot, even for the sake of science.

Recently Derek Randles investigated investigated the Elbe Trackway, now a known hoax. Prior to the discovery of a hoax Derek Randles was one of the first investigators on the scene carefully documenting every detail.

My first chance to do field work with Derek Randles
(Left to Right: Derek randles, Cliff Barackman, and me, Guy Edwards)

Now you can catch Derek Randles working the Olympic Project. According to OlympicProject.com:

The Olympic Project is an association of dedicated researchers, investigators, biologists and trackers committed to documenting the existence of Sasquatch through science and education.  Through comprehensive habitat study, DNA analysis and game camera deployment, our goal is to obtain as much information and empirical evidence as we can, with hopes of being as prepared as possible when and if species verification comes to fruition.  Our studies are conducted in a non-invasive manor with respect and sensitivity to probable habitat we believe this amazing species inhabits.

From my personal experience, Derek Randles is one of the most prepared field researchers out there. He had a tool for everything, and not just a tool, but the best tool for everything; measuring tape that measured yards and yards, casting materials, etc...His planning and thoughtfulness is apparent when you are out in the field with him and he is extremely generous with his knowledge and giving you an opportunity to collect your own data and research. 

Talk Like a Pirate Day includes Bigfoot

Arrrr Matey's! It aint beneath ourselves to take advantage of International Talk Like A Pirate Day! It be a real holiday! See fer y'self here. What do pirates and Bigfoot be havin' in common?

You'll be findin' the answer at Slow Wave. Slow Wave is a collective dream diary authored by different people from around the world, edited and drawn as a comic strip by Jesse Reklaw. A new strip is uploaded every week. Below is an dream from 2007.



EXTERNAL LINKS
Slow Wave
Wikipedia talk Like a Pirate Day Entry
official talk Like a Pirate Day Site